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TWENTY-TWO TEARS A SLATE, 



AND 



FORTY YEAPiS A FREEMAN; 



EKBftACGCQ A 



COERESPOXDENCE OF SEVERAL TEARS, WHILE | 

PRESIDEXT OF WILBERFORCE COLO:^^Y, j 

LONDON, CANADA WEST, 



AUSTIN STEWAKD. 



THIRD EDITION. 



ROCHESTER, N. T. 

rUBLISHSD BT ALLI5G3 * COBT, SSCHA2fGE STKZET. 

1861. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1856, "by 

WM. ALLI^^G, 

lu the Clerk's Office, of the Di>.vict Court of the U. S. for the 

Northern District of K'ew York. 



CoLVur & Cbowell, Stereotypers. 



i.f 



f 



FEOM GOYERNOE CLARK 



State of New York, 

Executive Department, 

Albany, May 10, 1856. 
]^Ir. a. Stettard, Canandaigua, 

Dear Sir: — I notice a paragraph in the "Ontai'io 

Times" of this date, making the announcement that you ai-e 

preparing "a sketch of events occun-ing under your o"v^n obser- 

ration during an eventful life," to be entitled, " Tw^enty Years a 

Slave, and Forty Yeai^s a Freeman ; " and that you design soon to 

make an effort to obtain subscribers for the book. 

Being desirous of rendering you what encoui-agement I may 

in the work, you are permitted to place my name on your list 

of subscribers. 

Respectfully Yours, 

MYRON H. CLARK 



KocHBSTBB, Seftembeb, 1856. 
Ma. "W'm, Allino, 

Dear Sir: — The undersigned have heard ■with 
pleasure, that jou are about issuing a Book made up from inci- 
dent* in the life of Austix Steward. "We have been the eajriy 
acquaintances and associates of Mr. Steward, while a business 
man in Rochester in an earlj day, and take pleasure in bearing 
testimony to his high personal, n¥5ral and Christian character. 
In a world of vici.saitude, Mr. Steward has received bo ordinary 
share, and we hope, while his book may do the world good, it 
may prove a substantial benefit to him in his declining years. 

Ashley Sampsow, 
Thomas Kjsmpshall, 
Frbdxbick Stabb, 
Chas. J. Hill, 
L. A. "Wabd, . 
Edwix ScHA^TOir, 

Jacob Gould. 



RECOMMENDATORY. 



RocHEsiaa, July 1, 1856, 
A. Stbwabd, Esq., 

Dear Sir: — In reply to your letter upon the 
propriety of publishing your life, I answer, that there is not only no 
objection to it, but it will be timely, and is demanded by fivery con- 
sideration of humanity and justice. Every tongue which speaks for 
Freedom, which has once been held by the awful gag of Slavery, is 
tinimpet-tongued — and he who pleads against this monstrous oppres- 
sion, if he can say, " here ai'e the scars," can do much. 

It is a great pleasure to me to run back to my boyhood, and stop at 
that spot where I first met you. I recollect the stoiy of your wrongs, 
and your joy in the supposition that all were now ended in your 
freedom; of your thirst for knowledge, as you gathered up from the 
rudimental books — not then very plenty — a few snatches of the 
elements of the language; of playing the school-master to you, in 
« setting copies" for your wi-iting-book; of guiding your mind and 
pen. ^ I remember your commencement in business, and the outrage 
and indignity offered you in Rochester, by white competitors on no 
other ground than that of color.* I saw your bitter tears, and recol- 

• The indignity spoken of was this ; Mr. Steward had establishftd a grocery and 
provision store on Buffalo Street, in a part of Abner Wakelee's building, opposite 
the Eagle Hotel. He put up his sign, a very plain and proper one, and at night, 
some competitors, whom he knew, aa well as he could know anything which he 
could not prove, smeared his sign with black paint, utterly destroying it 1 But the 
misguided men who stooped to such an act — the victims of sensuality and excess — 
have years ago ended their journey, and paased to the bar of a higher adjudi- 
cation. 



VI EECOMMEXDATORY. 

lect assuring you — wliat afterwards proved ta-ue — that justice -would 
overtake the offenders, and that you would live to see these enemies 
bite the dust 1 I remember your unsullied character, and your pros- 
perity, and when your word or endorsement was equal to that of any 
other citizen. I remember too, when yourself, and others of your 
kind, sunk all the gatherings of years of toil, in an unsuccessful 
attempt to establish an asylum for your enslaved and oppressed 
brethren — and, not to enumerate, which I might do much farther, I 
remember when your "old master," finding you had been successful, 
while he himself had lost in the changes on fortune's wheel — came 
here and set up a claim to yourself and your property — a claim which 
might have held both, had not a higher power suddenly summoned 
him to a tribunal, where both master and slave shall one day answer 
each for himself 1 

But to the book. Let its plain, unvarnished tale be sent out, and the 
stoiy of Slaveiy and its abominations, again be told by one who has 
felt in his own person its scorpion lash, and the weight of its grind- 
ing heel. I think it will do good service, and could not have been 
sent forth at a more auspicious period. The downfall of the hateful 
system of Slavery, is certain. Though long delayed, justice is sure 
to come at length; and he must be a slow thinker and a poor seer, 
who cannot discern in the elements already at work, the mighty 
forces which must eventually crush this oppression. I know that 
you and I have felt discouraged at the long delay, years ago, — when 
we might have kept up our hopes by the fact that eveiy thing that is 
slow is sure. Your book may be humble and your descriptions tame, 
yet truth is always mighty; and you may furnish the sword foi" some 
modem Sampson, who shall shout over more slain than his ancient 
prototype. I close with the wish, that much success may attend 
your labors, in more ways than one, and that your last days may be 

your best — and am, 

Your old Friend, 

And obed't serv't, 

' EDWIN SCRANTOM. 



CONTENTS 



I. 

Slave Life on the Plantation, ------ 13 



PAGE. 



TX 

At the Great House, ,.----- 20 

III. 

HdRSE-RACINa AND ITS COXSEQUENOES, - - - r- - 40 

IV. 

JtfirRNKT TO ODR "N AW HoME IN l^^.W YoRK, - - - - 52 

Y. 

Incitients at Sodus, --------55 

YI. 

Removal from Sodus to Bath, ------ 60 

YII. 

Dueling, --------- 64 



VIU CONTENTS. 

Yin. 

TXQU. 

HoBsi-RAcnra and Gecmral Ts-autcxq, - - - - 69 

IX. 

Death-Bed axd Boidal Soaxia, ..... £4 

X. 

lUHM) Out to a New Master, ...... 92 

XI. 

Thoughts ox Fmedom --.--.. 106 

xn. 

Captaix Helm — Divorce— Kidxappi^g, .... 116 

xin. 

Locate ix the Village of Rocubsteb, ----- 124 

XIY. 

Ixcidhhts IX Rochbst«e axd Vicinttt, . - - . 138 

XY. 

Sad Reverses of Captaix HaLM, ... . 145 

XYI. 

BaiTisn Emaxcipatiox of SLAvnar, - - . . , I49 

XYII. 

Obatiox — Tebmixatiox op Slavery ix the British Po8sessioxs. 153 

XYIIL 

CoxDiTiox OF Fbee Colobed People, - . - - . 164 



CONTENTS. ix 

XIX. 

TXSB, 
PKaSECUTIOIf OF THE CoLOEED PkOPLH, .... 173 

XX. 

Removal to Caxada, - . - - . . . . 183 

XXI. 

ROUGHIHG IT IN THE "WlLDS OF CaNADA, - - - . 190 

XXII. 

Narrow Escape of a Smuggler, - - - - 196 

XXIII. 

Narrative of Two Fugitives from Yirgwta, - - - - 202 

XXIY. 

Plbasaut Rb-Ujiion of Old axd Tried Friends, - - - 210 

XXY. 

Private Losses and Private Difficulties, - - - - 219 

XXYI. 

Ikcidhxts and Peculiarities of the Ixdians, - - - 223 

xxYn. 

Our Difficulties with Israel Lewis, - - - - 232 

xxYni. 

Desperatiox of a Fugitive Slave, ----- 245 

XXIX. 

A Narrow Escape from Mr Exkmies, - - , , - 253 



X CONTENTS. 

XXX. 

FAGX. 

Peath of B. Paul and Return of his Beothee, - - 257 

XXXI. 

Mr Family Retuex to Rochester, ----- 268 

xxxn. 

The Land Agent and the Squatter, ----- 274 

XXXOI. 

Chaeacter and Death of Israel Le-wis, - - - - 282 

XXXIY. 

My Return to Rochester, ------ 290 

XXXY. 

Bishop Brown — Death of my Daughter, - - - - 299 

XXXYI. 

Celebration of the First of August, - - - - 311 

XXXYII. 

Conclusion, - -------- 316 

Correspondence, -------- 341 



P EE F ACE. 



The author does not think that any apology is necessaiy for this 
issue of his Life and History. He believes that American Slaveiy is 
now the great question before the American People : that it is not 
merely a political question, coming up before the country as the 
ffrand element in the making of a President, and then to be laid 
aside for fom* yeai"s; but that its moi-al beai'ings are of such a nature 
that the Patriot, the Philanthropist, and aU good men agree that it is 
an evil of so much magnitude, that longer to permit it, is to -wink at 
sin, and to incur the righteous judgments of God. The late outrages 
and aggressions of the slave power to possess itself of new soil, and 
extend the influence of the hateful and God-provoking " Institution," 
is a practical commentary upon its benefits and the moral qualities of 
those who seek to sustain and extend it. The author is therefore 
the more willing — nay, anxious, to lay alongside of such arguments 
the histoiy of his own life and experiences a^t a dave, that those who 
read may know what are some of the characteristics of that highly 
favored intitution, which is sought to be preserved and perpetuated. 
•* Facts are stubborn things," — and this is the reason why all systems, 
religious, moral, or social, which are founded in injustice, and sup- 
ported by fraud and robbery, suffer so much by faithful exposition. 

The author has endeavored to present a true stetement of the prac- 
tical workings of the system of Slavery, as he tias seen and fult it 
himself. He has intended " nothing to extenuate, nor aught set down 



XU PKEFACE. 

in raalice;" indeed, so far from belieying that he has misrepresented 
Slavery as an institution, he does not feel that he has the power to 
give anything like a true picture of it in all its deformity and 
wickedness; especially that Slavery which is an institution among an 
enlightened and Christian people, who profess to believe that all 
men are born free and equal, and who have certain inalienable rights, 
among which arc life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

The author claims that he has endeavored since he had his 
freedom, as much as in him lay, to benefit his suffering fellows in 
bondage; and that he has spent most of his free life in eflforta to 
elevate them in mannera and moi-als, though against all the opposing 
forces of prejudice and pride, which of course, has made much of his 
labor vain. In his old age he sends out this histoiy — presenting as 
it were his oion body, with the marks and scars of the tender mercies 
of slave drivers upon it, and asking that these may plead in the 
name of Justice, Humanity, and Mercy, that those who have the 
power, may have the magnanimity to strike oiF the chains from the 
enslaved, and bid him stand up, a Freeman and a Brother I 



CHAPTEE I 



SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 

I "WAS born in Prince William County, Virginia. 
At seven years of age, I found myself a slave on 
the plantation of Capt. William Helm. Our family 
consisted of my father and mother — whose names 
were Eobert and Susan Steward — a sister, Mary, 
and myself. As was the usual custom, wo lived in 
a small cabin, built of rough boards, with a floor of 
earth, and small openings in the sides of the cabin 
were substituted for windows. The chimney was 
built of sticks and mud; the door, of rough boards; 
and the whole was put together in the rudest possible 
manner. As to the furniture of this rude dwelling, 
it was procured by the slaves themselves, who were 
occasionally permitted to earn a little money after 
their day's toil was done. I never knew Capt. H. 
to furnish his slaves with household utensils of any 
description. 



14 WEEKLY ALLOWANCE OF FOOD. 

The amount of provision given out on the planta- 
tion per \Yeek, was invariably one peck of corn or 
neal for each slave. This allowance was given in 
meal when it could be obtained; when it could not, 
they received corn, which they pounded in mortars 
after they returned from their labor in the field. The 
slaves on our plantation were pro\~ided with very 
little meat. In addition to the peck of corn or meal, 
they were allowed a little salt and a few herrings. 
If they wished for more, they were obliged to earn it 
by over-work. They were permitted to cultivate 
small gardens, and were thereby enabled to pro-^-ide 
themselves with many trifling conveniences. But 
these gardens were only allowed to some of the more 
industrious. Capt. Helm allowed his slaves a small 
quantity of meat during harvest time, but when the 
harvest was over they were obliged to fall back on 
the old allowance. 

It was usual for men and women to work side by 
side on our plantation ; and in many kinds of work, 
the women were compelled to do as much as the men. 
Capt. n. employed an overseer, whose business it was 
to look after each slave in the field, and see that he 
performed his task. The overseer always went around 
with a whip, about nine feet long, made of the 
toughest kind of cowhide, the but-end of which was 
-oaded with lead, and was about four or five inches in 
circumference, running to a point at the opposite 



SLAVE LIFE ON THE PLANTATION. 19 

or they miglit from their scanty store bring Mm such 
food as they could spare, to keep him. from suffering 
hunger, and offer their sympathy, and then drag their 
own weary bodies to their place of rest, after their 
daily task was finished. 

Oh, you who have hearts to feel; you who have 
kind friends around yon, in sickness and ia sorrow, 
think of the sufferings of the helpless, destitute, and 
down-trodden slave. Has sickness laid its withering 
hand upon you, or disappoiatment blasted your fairest 
earthly prospects, still, the outgushin^ of an affec- 
tionate heart are not denied you, and you may look 
forward with hope to a bright future. Such a hope 
seldom animates the heart of the poor slave. He toils 
on, in his unrequited labor, looking only to the grave 
to find a quiet resting place, where he will be free 
from the oppre-ssor. 



OHAPTEE II, 



AT THE GEEAT HOUSE. 

WHEN" eiglit years of age, I was taken to tTie 
"great house," or the family mansion of my 
master, to serve as an errand boy, where I had to 
stand in the presence of my master's family all the 
day, and a part of the night, ready to do any thing 
which they commanded me to perform. 

My master's family consisted of himself and wife, 
and seven children. His overseer, whose name was 
Barsly Taj' lor, had also a .wife and five children. 
These constituted the wliite population on the plan- 
tation. Capt. Helm was the owner of about one 
hundred slaves, which made the residents on the plan- 
tation number about one hundi'ed and sixteen per- 
sons in all. One hundred and seven of them, were 
required to labor for the benefit of the remaining 
nine, who possessed that vast domain; and one hundred 
of the number doomed to unrequited toil, under the 



AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 21 

lasli of a cruel task-master during life, with no liope 
of release tliis side of the grave, and as far as the 
cruel oppressor is concerned, shut out from hope 
beyond it. 

And here let me ask, why is this practice of work- 
ing slaves half clad, poorly fed, with nothing or 
nearly so, to stimulate them to exertion, but fear of 
the lash? Do the best interests of our common 
country require it ? I think not. Did tli« true inter- 
est of Oapt. Helm demand it ? Whatever may have 
been his opinion, I cannot think it did. Can it be for 
the best interest or good of the enslaved ? Certainly 
not; for there is no real inducement for the slave- 
holder to make beasts of burden of his fellow men, 
but that which was frankly acknowledged by Gibbs 
and other piiates: "we have the power," — the power 
to rob and murder on the high seas! — which they 
will undoubtedly continue to hold, until overtaken 
by justice; which will certainly come some time, just 
as sure as that a righteous God reigns over the earth 
or rules in heaven. 

Some Lave attempted to apologize for the enslaving 
of the Negro, by saying that they are inferior to the 
Anglo saxon race in every respect. This charge I 
deny; it is utterly false. Does not the Bible inform 
us that " God hath created of one blood all the natic >*a 
of the earth?" And certainly in stature and physiuU 
ifoTce the colored man is qtiite equal to his whito 



22 CAPT. HELM, A GREAT GAMESTER. 

brotlier, and in many instances his superior; but vera 
it otherwise, I can not see why the more favored class 
should enslave the other. True, God has given to the 
African a darker complexion than to his white brother ; 
still, each have the same desires and aspirations. The 
food required for the sustenance of one is equally 
necessary for the otlier. Naturally or physically, 
they alike require to be warmed by the cheerful fire, 
when chilled by our northern winter's breath; and 
alike they welcome the cool spring and the delightful 
shade of summer. Hence, I have come to the con- 
clusion that God created all men free and equal, and 
placed them upon this earth to do good and benefit 
each other, and that war and slavery should be ban- 
ished from the face of the earth. 

My dear reader will not understand me to say, that 
all nations are alike intelligent, enterprising and indus- 
trious, for we all know that it is far otherwise ; but to 
man, and not to our Creator, should the fault be 
charged. But, to resume our narrative, 

Capt. Helm was not a very hard master; but gen- 
erally was kind and pleasant. Indulgent wlien in 
good humor, but like many of the southerners, terrible 
when in a passion. He was a great sportsman, and 
very fond of company. He generally kept one or two 
law iiorses, and a pack of hoimds for fox-hunting, 
which at that time, was a very common and fasliion- 
able diversion in that section of country. He was not 



AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 23 

only a sportsman, but a gamester, and was in tlie 
habit of playing cards, and sometimes betting very 
high and losing accordingly. 

I well remember an instance of the kind : it was 
when he played cards with a Mr. W. Grraham, who 
won from him in one sweep, two thousand and seven 
hundred dollars in all, in the form of a valuable horse, 
prized at sixteen hundred dollars, another saddle- 
horse of less value, one slave, and his wife's gold 
watch. The company decided that all this was fairly 
won, but Capt. Helm demurred, and refused to give 
up the property until an application was made to Gen. 
George Washington, "(the father of his country,") 
who decided that Capt. Helm had lost the game, and 
that Mr. Graham had fairly won the property, of 
which Mr. G. took immediate possession, and con- 
veyed to his own plantation. 

Capt. Helm was not a good business man, unless 
we call horse-racing, fox-hunting, and card-playing, 
business. His overseer was entrusted with every 
thing on the plantation, and allowed to manage about 
as he pleased, while the Captain enjoyed himself in 
receiving calls from his wealthy neighbors, and in 
drinking what he called " grog," which was no more 
nor less than whisky, of which he was extremely 
fond, notwithstanding his cellar contained the choicest 
wines and liquors. To show his partiality for his 
favorite beverage, I will relate an incident which 



24 MRS. HELM USES THE COWLIWE. 

occurred between Capt. Helm and Col. Charles 
Williamson. The Colonel, believing wine to be 
a healthier beverage than whisky, accepted a bet 
made by Capt. Helm, of one thousand dollars, that he 
would live longer and drink whisky, than the Colonel, 
who drank wine. Shortly after. Col. Williamson waS' 
called home by the British government, and while on 
his way to England, died, and liis body, preserved in 
a cask of brandy, was taken home. The bet Capt. 
Helm made considerable effort to get, but was unsuc- 
cessful. 

Mrs. Helm was a very industrious woman, and 
generally busy in her household affairs — sewing, knit- 
ting, and looking after the servants; but she was a 
great scold, — continually finding fault with some of 
the servants, and frequently punishing the young 
slaves herself, by striking them over the head with a 
heavy iron key, until the blood ran ; or else whipping 
them with a cowhide, which she always kept by her 
side when sitting in her room. The older servants 
she would cause to be punished by having them 
severely whipped by a man, which she never failed 
to do for every trifling fault. I have felt the weight 
of some of her heaviest keys on my own head, and for 
the slightest offences, No slave could possibly escape 
being punished — ^I care not how attentive they might 
'be, nor how industrious — punished they must be, and 
punished they certainly were. Mrs. Helm appeared 



AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 25 

to be uneasy unless some of the servants were under 
the lash. She came into the kitchen one morning and 
my mother, who was cook, had just put on the 
dinner. Mrs. Helm took out her white cambric hand- 
kerchief, and rubbed it on the inside of the pot, and 
it crocked it ! That was enough to invoke the wrath 
of my master, who came forth immediately with his 
horse- whip, with which he whipped my poor mother 
most unmercifully — ^far more severely than I ever 
knew him to whip a horse. 

I once had the misfortune to break the lock of 
master's shot gun, and when it came to his know- 
ledge, he came to me in a towering passion, and 
charged me with what he considered the crime of 
carelessness. I denied it, and told him I knew 
nothing about it; but I was so terribly frightened 
that he saw I was guilty, and told me so, foam- 
ing with rage; and then I confessed the truth. But 
"oh, there was no escaping the lash. Its recollection 
is still bitter, and ever will be. I was com- 
manded to take off my clothes, which I did, and 
then master put me on the back of another slave, my 
arms hanging down before him and my hands clasped 
in his, where he was obliged to hold me with a vise- 
like grasp. Then master gave me the most severe 
flogging that I ever received, and I pray God that I 
may never again experience such torture. And yet 
Capt. Helm was not the worst of masters. 
li 



26 HUMILITY OF SLAVES. 

These cruelties are daily occurrences, and so degrad- 
ing is the whole practice of Slavery, that it not only 
crushes and brutalizes the wretched slave, but it 
hardens the heart, benumbs all the fine feelings of 
humanity, and deteriorates from the character of tbe 
slaveholders themselves, — whether man or woman. 
Otherwise, how could a gentle, and in other respects, 
amiable woman, look on such scenes of cruelty, with- 
out a shudder of utter abhorrence ? But slaveholding 
ladies, can not only look on quietly, but with appro- 
bation ; and what is worse, though very common, they 
can and do use the lash and cowhide themselves, on 
the backs of their slaves, and that too on those of 
their own sex ! Far rather would I spendlmy life in 
a State's' Prison, than be the slave of the best slave- 
holder on the earth I 

When I was not employed as an errand-boy, it was 
my duty to stand behind my master's chair, which 
> was sometimes the whole day, never being allowed to 
sit in his presence. Indeed, no slave is ever allowed 
to sit down in the presence of their master or mistress. 
If a slave is addressed when sitting, he is required to 
spring to his feet, and instantly remove his hat, if he 
has one, and answer in the most humble manner, or 
lay the foundation for a flogging, which will not bo 
long delayed. 

I slept in the same room with my master and mis- 
tress. This room was elegantly furnished with damask 



AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 27 

curtains, mahogany bedstead of tHe most expensive 
kind, and every thing else about it was of the most 
costly kind. And while Mr. and Mrs. Helm reposed 
on their bed of down, with a cloud of lace floating 
over them, lilce some Eastern Prince, with their slaves 
to fan them while they slept, and to tremble when 
vhey awoke, I always slept upon the floor, without a 
pillow or even a blanket, but, hke a dog, lay down 
anywhere I could find a place. 

Slaves are never allowed to leave the plantation to 
which they belong, without a written pass. Should 
any one venture to disobey this law, he will most 
likely be caught by the patrol and given thirty ^nine 
lashes. This patrol is always on duty every Sunday, 
going to each plantation under their supervision, 
enteruig every slave cabin, and examining closely the 
conduct of the slaves; and if they find one slave 
from another plantation without a pass, he is imme- 
diately punished with a severe flogging. 

I recollect going one Sunday with my mother, to 
visit my grand-mother; and while there, two or three 
of the patrol came and looked into the cabin, and see- 
ing my mother, demanded her pass. She told them 
that she had one, but had left it in another cabin, from 
whence she soon brought it, which saved her a whip- 
ping but we were terribly frightened. 

The reader will obtain a better knowledge of the 
character of a Virginia patrol, by the relation of an 



28 A KIND MASTER. 

affair, whicli came off on the neighboring plantation 
of Col. Alexander, in which some forty of Capt. 
Helm's slaves were engaged, and which proved rather 
destructive of human life in the end. 

But I must first say that it is not true, that slave 
owners are respected for kindness to their slaves. 
The more tyrannical a master is, the more will he be 
favorably regarded by his neighboring planters ; and 
from the day that he acquires the reputation of a kind 
and indulgent master, he is looked upon with sus- 
picion, and sometimes hatred, and his slaves are 
watched more closely than before. 

Col. Alexander was a very wealthy planter and 
owned a great number of slaves, but he was very 
justly suspected of being a kind, humane, and indul- 
gent master. His slaves were always better fed, 
better clad, and had greater privileges than any I 
knew in the Old Dominion ; and of course, the patrol 
had long had an eye on them, anxious to flog some of 
"those pampered niggers, who were spoiled by the 
indulgence of a weak, inefficient, but well-meaning 
owner." 

Col. A. gave his slaves the liberty to get up a grand 
dance. Invitations were sent and accepted, to a large 
number of slaves on other plantations, and so, for 
miles around, all or many of the slaves were in high 
anticipation of joining in the great dance, which was 
to come off on Easter night. In the mean time, the 



AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 29 

patrol was closely watching their movements, and 
evinced rather a joyful expectancy of the many they 
should find there without a pass, and the flogging 
they would give them for that, if not guilty of any 
other offence, and perhaps they might catch some of 
the Colonel's slaves doing something for which they 
could be Jaught "to know their place," by the appli- 
cation of the cowhide. 

The slaves on Col. A.'s plantation had to provide 
and prepare the supper for the expected vast "turn 
out," which was no light matter; and as slaves .like 
on such occasions to pattern as much as possible after 
their master's family, the result was, to meet the 
emergency of the case, they tooh^ without saying, "by 
your leave, Sir," some property belonging to their 
master, reasoning among themselves, as slaves often 
do, that it can not be stealing^ because "it belongs to 
massa, and so do we, and we only use one part of his 
property to benefit another. Sure, 'tis all massa's." 
And if they do not get detected in this removal 
of " massa's property" from one location to another, 
they think no more of it. 

Col. Alexander's slaves were hurrying on with their 
great preparations for the dance and feast; and as the 
time drew near, the old and knowing ones might be 
seen in groups, discussing the matter, with many a 
wink and nod ; but it was in the valleys and by -places 
where the younger portion were to be found, rather 



30 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

secretly preparing food for the great time corning. 
This consisted of hogs, slieep, calves; and as to 
master's poultry^ that suffered daily. Sometimes it 
was missed, but the disappearance was always easily 
accounted for, by informing "massa" that a great num- 
ber of hawks had been around of late; and their 
preparation went on, night after night, undetected. 
They who repaired to a swamp or other by -place to 
cook by night, carefully destroyed everything likely 
to detect them, before they returned to their cabins in 
the morning. 

The night for the dance came at last, and long 
before the time, the road leading to Col. Alexander's 
plantation presented a gay spectacle. The females 
were seen flocking to the place of resort, with heads 
adorned with gaudy bandanna turbans and new calico 
dresses, of the gayest colors, — their whole attire 
decked over with bits of gauze ribbon and other 
fantastic finery. The shades of night soon closed over 
the plantation, and then could be heard the rude 
music and loud laugh of the unpolished slave. It 
was about ten o'clock when the aristocratic slaves began 
to assemble, dressed in the cast-off finery of their 
master and mistress, swelling out and putting on airs 
in imitation of those they were forced to obey from 
day to day. 

When they were all assembled, the dance com- 
menced ; the old fiddler struck up some fiivoritc tune, 



SUFFERING AKD TOIL FORGOTTEN. 81 

and over the floor they went; the flying feet of the 
dancers were heard, pat, pat, over the apartment till 
the clock warned them it was twelve at midnight, or 
what some call "low twelve," to distinguish it from 
twelve o'clock at noon; then the violin ceased its 
discordant sounds, and the merry dancers paused to 
take breath. 

Supper was then announced, and all began to pre- 
pare for the sumptuous feast. It being the pride of 
slaves to imitate the manners of their master and 
mistress, especially in the ceremonies of the table, 
all was conducted with great propriety and good 
order. The food was well cooked, and in a very 
plentiful supply. They had also managed in some 
way, to get a good quantity of excellent wine, which 
was sipped in the most approved and modern style. 
Every dusky face was lighted up, and every eye 
sparkled with joy. However ill fed they might 
have beeti, here, for once, there was plenty. Suffer- 
ing and toil was forgotten, and they all seemed with 
one accord to give themselves up to the intoxication 
of pleasurable amusement. 

House servants were of course, " the stars" of the 
party; all eyes were turned to them to see how they 
conducted, for they, among slaves, are what a mihtary 
man would call '' fugle-men." The Held hands, and 
such of them as have generally been excluded from 
the dwelling of their owners, look to the house 



32 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

servant as a pattern of politeness and gentility. And 
indeed, it is often the only method of obtaining any 
knowledge of the manners of what is called " genteel 
society;" hence, they are ever regarded as a privileged 
class; and are sometimes greatly envied, while others 
are bitterly hated. And too often justly, for many of 
them are the most despicable tale-bearers and mischief- 
makers, who will, for the sake of the favor of his 
master or mistress, frequently betray his fellow-slave, 
and by tattling, get him severely whipped; and for 
these acts of perfidy, and sometimes downright false- 
hood, he is often rewarded by his master, who knows 
it is for his interest to keep such ones about him; 
though he is sometimes obliged, in addition to a 
reward, to send him away, for fear of the vengeance 
of the betrayed slaves. In the family of his master, 
the example of bribery and treachery is ever set 
before him, hence it is, that insurrections and stam- 
pedes are so generally detected. Such slaves are 
always treated with more affability than others, for the 
slaveholder is well aware that he stands over a vol- 
cano, that may at any moment rock his foundation to 
the center, and with one mighty burst of its long 
suppressed fire, sweep him and his family to destruc- 
tion. When he lies down at night, he knows not but 
that ere another morning shall dawn, he may be left 
mangled and bleeding, and at the mercy of those 
maddened slaves whom he has so long ruled with a 
rod of iron. 



I 



THE PARTY SURPRISED BY THE PATROL. 33 

But the supper, like other events, came to an end at 
last. The expensive table service, with other things, 
which had been secretly brought from the *' great 
house," was hurriedly cleansed by the slaves, and care- 
fully returned. The floor was again cleared, the violin 
sounded, and soon they were performing another 
"break down," with all the wild abandon of the 
African character,— in the very midst of which, the 
music suddenly ceased, and the old musician assumed 
a listening attitude. Every foot was motionless; 
every face terrified, and every ear hstening for the 
cause of the alarm. 

Soon the slave who was kept on the "look-out," 
shouted to the listeners the single word '■'■patrol!'''' 
and then the tumult that followed that announcement, 
is beyond the power of language to describe ! 
Many a poor slave who had stolen from his cabin, to 
join in the dance, now remembered that they had no 
pass ! Many screamed in affright, as if they already 
felt the lash and heard the crack of the overseer's 
whip; others clenched their hands, and assumed an 
attitude of bold defiance, while a savage frown con- 
tracted the brow of all. Their unrestrained merri- 
ment and delicious fare, seemed to arouse in them the 
natural feelings of self-defence and defiance of their 
oppressors. But what could be done? The patrol 
was nearing the building, when an athletic, powerful 
slave, who had been but a short time from his "father- 

B* 



34 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

land," whose spirit the cowardly overseer had labored 
in vain to quell, said in a calm, clear voice, that we 
had better stand our ground, and advised the females 
to lose no time in useless wailing, but get their things 
and repair immediately to a cabin at a short distance, 
and there remain quiet, without a light, which they 
did with all possible haste. The men were terrified 
at this bold act of their leader ; and many with dismay 
at the thought of resistance, began to skulk behind 
fences and old buildings, when he opened the door 
and requested every slave to leave who felt unwilling 
to fight. None were urged to remain, and those 
who stood by him did so voluntarily. 

Their number was now reduced to twenty-five men, 
but the leader, a gigantic African, with a massive, 
compact frame, and an arm of great strength, looked 
competent to put ten common men to flight. He 
clenched his powerful fist, and declared that he would 
resist unto death, before he would be arrested by those 
savage men, even if they promised not to flog hun. 
They closed the door, and agi'eed not to open it; and 
then the leader cried, " Extinguish the lights and let 
them come ! we will meet them hand to hand I " Five 
of the number he stationed near the door, with orders 
to rush out, if the patrol entered, and seize their 
horses, cut the bridles, or otherwise unfit them for 
use. This would prevent them from giving an alarm 
md getting a reinforcement from surrounding planta- 



THE SLAVE S PLAN RESISTANCE. Sft 

tions. In silence they awaited tlie approacli of thoi 
enemy, and soon the tramping of horses' feet announc- 
ed their approach, but when within a few yards of the 
house they halted, and were overheard by one of the 
skulking slaves, maturing their plans and mode of 
attack. There was great hesitancy expressed by a 

part of the company to engage in the affair at all. ] 

I 

"Coming events cast their sLado-w before." 

The majority, however, seemed to think it safe enough, 
and uttered expressions of triumph that they had got 
the rascals at last. 

"Are you not afraid that they will resist?" said 
the weaker party. 

*' Kesist ? " was the astonished answer. " This old 
fellow, the Colonel, has pampered and indulged hia 
slaves, it is true, and they have slipped through oui 
fingers whenever we have attempted to chastise them; 
but they are not such fools as to dare resistance I 
Those niggers know as well as we, that it is death^ by 
the law of the State, for a slave to strike a white man." 

"Yery true," said the other, "but it is dark and 
long past midnight, and beside they have been indulg- 
ing their appetites, and we cannot tell what they ma}' 
attempt to do." ; 

"Pshaw I" he answered, contemptuously, "they are 
unarmed, and I should not fear in the least, to go in 
among them ahne^ armed only with my cowhide I " 



36 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

** As you please, then," lie said, rather dubiously, 
"but look well to your weapons ; are they in order?" 

" In prime order. Sir." And putting spurs to their 
horses, were soon at the house, where they dismount- 
ed and requested one of the party to remain with the 
horses. 

" What," said he, " are you so chicken-hearted as to 
suppose those d — d cowardly niggers are going to get 
up an insurrection ?" 

" Oh no," he replied, carelessly, but would not con- 
sent to have the horses left alone. " Besides," said he, 
" they may forget themselves at this late hour ; but if 
they do, a few lashes of the cowhide will quicken their 
memory, I reckon." 

The slaves were aware of their movements, and 
prepared to receive them. 

They stepped up to the door boldly, and demanded 
admittance, but all was silent ; they tried to open it, 
but it was fastened. Those inside, ranged on each side 
of the door, and stood perfectly still. 

The patrol finding the slaves not disposed to obey, 
burst off the slight fastening that secured the door, and 
the chief of the patrol bounded into their midst, follow- 
ed by several of his companions, all in total darkness I 

Yain is the attempt to describe the tumultuous scene 
which followed. Hand to hand they fought and strug- 
gled witli each other, amid the terrific explosion of fire- 
arms, — oaths and curses, mingled with the prayers of 



THE FEAKFUL FIGHT. 87 

the wounded, and the groans of the dying I Two of 
the patrol were killed on the spot, and lay drenched in 
the warm blood that so lately flowed through their 
veins. Another with his arm broken and otherwise 
wounded, lay groaning and helpless, beside the fallen 
slaves, who had sold their lives so dearly. Another of 
his fellows was found at a short distance, mortally 
wounded and about to bid adieu to life. In the yard 
lay the keeper of the horses, a stiffened corpse. Six 
of the slaves were killed and two wounded. 

It would be impossible to convey to the minds of 
northern people, the alarai and perfect consternation 
that the above circumstance occasioned in that commu- 
nity. The knowledge of its occurrence was carried 
from one plantation to another, as on the wings of the 
wind; exaggerated accounts were given, and pro- 
phecies of the probable result made, until the excite- 
ment became truly fearful. Every cheek was blanch- 
ed and every frame trembled when listening to the 
tale, that "insurrection among the slaves had commenc- 
ed on the plantation of Col. Alexander ; that three or 
four of the patrol had been killed, &c." The day af- 
ter, people flocked from every quarter, armed to the 
teeth, swearing vengeance on the defenceless slaves. 
Nothing can teach plainer than this, the constant and 
.tormenting fear in which the slaveholder lives, and 
yet he repents not of his deeds. 

The kind old Colonel was placed in the most difii- 



58 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

cult and unenviable position. His warm heart was fill- 
ed with sorrow for the loss of his slaves, but not alone, 
as is generally the case in such instances, because he 
had lost so much property. He truly regretted the 
death of his faithful servants, and boldly rebuked the 
occasion of their sudden decease. When beset and 
harrassed by his neighbors to give up his slaves to be 
tried for insurrection and murder, he boldly resisted, 
contending for the natural right of the slaves, to act in 
their own defence, and especially when on his own 
plantation and in their own quarters. They contend- 
ed, however, that as his slaves had got up a dance, and 
had invited those of the adjoining plantations, the pa- 
trol was only discharging their duty in looking after 
them ; but the gallant old Colonel defended his slaves, 
and told them plainly that he should continue to do so 
to the extent of his ability and means. 

The poor slaves were sad enough, on the morning 
after their merry meeting, and they might be seen 
standing in groups, conversing with a very different 
air from the one they had worn the day before. 

Their business was now to prepare the bodies of 
their late associates for the grave. Robert, the brave 
Afiican, who had so boldly led them on the night be- 
fore, and who had so judiciously provided for their es- 
cape, was calmly sleeping in death's cold embrace. 
He left a wife and five slave childi'en. Two of the 
other slaves left families, whose pitiful cries it was 
painfnl to hear. 



FUNERAL OF THE MURDERED SLAVE. 89 

The Colonel's family, deeply afflicted by what was 
passing around them, attended the funeral. One of 
the slaves, who sometimes officiated as a minister, read 
a portion of Scripture, and gave out two hymns ; — one 
of which commences with 

" H»,rk 1 from the tomb a. doleful sound." 

Both were sung with great solemnity by the, congre- 
gation, and then the good old man offered a prayer; 
after which he addressed the slaves on the shortness of 
human life and the certainty of death, and more than 
once hinted at the hardness of their lot, assuring, how- 
ever, his fellow-slaves, that if they were good and 
faithful, all would be right hereafter. His master. Col. 
Alexander, was deeply affected by this simple faith 
and sincere regard for the best interests of all, both 
master and slave. 

When the last look at their fellow-servants had been 
taken, the procession was formed in the following 
manner : First, the old slave minister, then the remains 
of the dead, followed by their weeping relatives ; then 
came the master and his family; next the slaves 
belonging to the plantation ; and last, friends and 
strangers, black and white ; all moved on solemnly to 
the final resting-place of those brave men, whose 
descendants may yet be heard from, in defence of 
right and freedom. 



CHAPTER III 



HORSE-EACING AITD ITS CONSEQUENCES. 

CAPT. Helm had a race-course on his plantation, 
on which he trained young horses for the fall 
races. One very fine horse he owned, called Hark 
Anthony^ which he trained in the most careful manner 
for several months previous to the races. He would 
put him on the course every morning, sometimes 
covering him with a blanket, and then put liim to his 
utmost speed, which he called " sweating him." Mark 
Anthony was to be put on the race-course in October 
following, as a competitor for the purse of ten thou- 
sand dollars, w^hich was the amount to be lost or gain- 
ed on the first day of the fall races. Capt. H. had 
also another young horse, called Buffer^ under a course 
of training, which he designed to enter the lists for the 
second day. His course of training had been about 
the same as Mark Anthonj-'s, but being a year or two 
younger, it was thought that he had not sufficient 
"bottom" to risk so much money on, as was at stake 
on the first day. 




" Away they go, sweeping round the course with lightning speed, while every 
spectator's eye Is strained, and every countenance flushed with intense anxiety," 

page 41. 



THE FIRST HEAT. 41 ^ 

"WTien the time for the races to commence came, all 
was bustle and excitement in the house and on the ' 
plantation. It was a fine October morning, and the i 
sun shed a mellow radiance on all around, when people ■ 
began to throng the race-course. Some came with 
magnificent equipages, attended bj their numerous | 
train of black servants, dressed in livery, — some in | 
less splendid array, — and others on foot, all hurrying \ 
on to the exciting scene. There the noblest blood of * 
Old Yirginia, of which many are wont to boast, was - 
fbdly represented, as was also the wealth and fashion ; 
of the country for many miles around. ! 

All were in high spirits, and none seemed to fear I 
that they would be the losers in the amount of money | 
about to change hands. And for what, pray, is all ! 
this grand outlay — ^this vast expenditure ? Merely the ' 
pleasure and gratification of witnessing the speed of a j 
fine horse, and the vanity of prejudging concerning it. 

The arrangements were at length completed,— the ; 
horses regularly entered, Mark Anthony among the , 
rest, — and then the word " go !" was given, when each ; 
horse sprang as if for his life, each striving to take the \ 
lead. Away they go, sweeping round the course with I 
lightning speed, while every spectator's eye is strained, : 
and every countenance flushed "vvith intense anxiety, j 

Some of the noble animals were distanced the first | 
heat, and others were taken away by their owners. | 

The judges allowed twenty minutes to prepare the ; 



42 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

horses for tlie second trial of their speed — a trial wHch 
must enrich or empoverish many of the thousands 
present. Already there were sad countenances to be 
seen in the crowd. 

The horses were again in readiness, and the word 
given, — away they flew with the fleetness of the wind, 
to come in the second time. 

But who can describe the anxiety written on every 
face, as they prepared for the third and last trial ? I 
cannot. Many had already lost all they had staked, 
and others who had bet high began to fear for the re- 
sult. Soon, however, all was again prepared and those 
foaming steeds, after having exerted their animal power 
to the utmost, have accomplished their task and come 
in for the last time. The purse was won, hut 
not hy Marh Anthony. Capt. Helm was more fortu- 
nate the second day. Buffer won the smaller purse, 
but the Captain came from the races, a much poorer 
man than when they commenced. These repeated 
failures and heavy losses had the effect to arouse him 
to a sense of his pecuniary position, and he soon after 
began to think and talk about going to some new 
country. 

He resolved at last to visit the far-off "Grenesee 
Country," which he shortly after put in practice, and 
after an absence of about three weeks he returned in 
go(xl health, and delighted with the country ; the more 
so, doubtless, because he said,, "the more slaves a man 



CAPT. HELM SELLS OUT AT AUCTION. 48 

possessed in tliat conntry tlie more lie would be re- ; 
spected, and the higher would be his position in ' 
society." 

Capt. Helm finally concluded to sell his plantation | 
and stock, except the slaves, and remove to the Gene- 
see Country, where he designed to locate his futur^ 
residence. i 

The plantation and stock (retaining the slaves) were | 
advertised for sale, and on a certain day named, all i 
would be disposed of at a public sale, or to the high- ' 
est bidder. : 

When the day of sale arrived, there flocked from all i 
parts of the surrounding country the largest assem- 
blage of people I ever saw in that place. A large 
number of wealthy and respectable planters were! 
present, whose gentlemanly behavior should have been] 
an example to others. I 

The majority of that vast crowd, however, were a; 
rough, quarrelsome, fighting set, just such as might bei 
expected from slave-holding districts. There were; 
several regularly fought battles during the first day of j 
the sale. | 

One Thomas Ford, a large, muscular, ferocious-look- 
ing fellow, a good specimen of a southern bully and' 
woman- whipper, had been victorious through the day 
in numerous fights and brawls ; but he had to pay dear 
for it when night came. Some one or more of; 
the vanquished party, took advantage of the dart 



44 AT THE GREAT HOXJSE. 

night to stab iiim in botb. sides. The knife of the as- 
sassin had been thrust into his thigh, tearing the flesh 
upward, leaving a frightful and dangerous wound; 
but what is most singular, both sides were wounded in 
nearly the same manner, and at the same time, for so 
quickly was the deed committed that the offenders 
made their escape, before an alarm could be raised for 
their detection ; nor have I ever heard of any one 
being arrested for the crime. 

Ford's groans and cries were painful to hear, but his 
brother acted like a madman; rushing hither and 
thither, with a heavy bludgeon in his hand, with 
which he indiscriminately beat the fences and what- 
ever came in his way, crying " Oh my brother, my 
poor brother ! Who has murdered my poor brother ?" 

Physicians came to the aid of the wounded man who 
at first thought he might recover, but in a climate like 
that of Virginia it was impossible. His friends did all 
they could to save him, but the poor wretch lingered 
a few days and died. Thus ended the life of a bad 
man and a hard master. 

And who will wonder, if his slaves rejoiced to hear 
of his death ? If they must be sold to pay his debts, 
they could not fall into the hands of a more heart- 
less tyrant. Who then can blame those feeble women 
and helpless children, long held as chattels in his iron 
grasp, if they are grateful that the man-ste?ler is no 
more? 



DRUNKENNESS AND MURDER AT THE SALE. 45 

Tliis Ford was a fair specimen of that class, known 
in more modern parlance as a '' Border Euffian." Such 
as are at this time endeavoring, by their swaggering 
and bullying, to cast on the fair fields of Kansas the 
deep curse of Slavery — a curse wliich, like the poison 
of the deadly Upas, blights all within its influence : 
the colored and the white man, the slave and the 
master. We were thankful, however, that no more 
lives were lost during the vendue, which was com- 
menced with the stock ; this occupied two days. 

The reader will see that we had cause to be grateful, 
when he takes into consideration that drinking and 
fighting was the order of the day, and drunkenness 
and carousing the order of the night. 

Then too, the practice of dueling was carried on in 
all its hideous barbarity. If a gentleman thought him- 
self insulted, he would immediately challenge the 
offender to mortal combat, and if he refused to do so, 
then the insulted gentleman felt bound by that bar- 
barous code of honor, to take his life, whenever or 
wherever he might meet him, though it might be 
in a crowded assembly, where the lives of innocent 
persons were endangered. 

A case of this kind happened in Kentucky, where 
the belligerent parties met in a large concourse of 
people, the majority of them women and children; 
but the combat ensued, regardless of consequences. 
One woman was shot through the face, but that 



46 AT THE GREAT HOUSE. 

was not worthy of notice, for slie was only a colored 
woman; and in that, as in other slave States, the 
laws give to the white population the liberty to trample 
under foot the claims of all such persons to justice. 
Justly indignant ladies present remonstrated, but all to 
no purpose. The Governor of the State was there 
and was in danger of being wounded by their flying 
bullets, and it is possible that if he had been in the 
place of the poor African, some action would have 
been taken, and laws made to protect the people 
against such inhuman practices. But I must return to 
Capt. Helm and the vendue. 

The sale continued for several days, during which 
there was no such thing as rest or sleep or one quiet 
moment on the premises. As was customary in that 
State, Capt. Helm provided the food and drink for all 
who came, and of course a great many came to drink 
and revel and not to buy; and that class generally 
took the night time for their hideous outbreaks, when 
the more respectable class had retired to their beds or 
to their homes. And many foul deeds and cruel out- 
rages were committed; nor could the perpetrators be 
detected or brought to justice. Nothing could be done 
but to submit quietly to their depredations. 

One peaceable old slave was killed by having his 
head split open with an ax. He was found in the 
morning lying in the yard, with the bloody instrument 
of death by his side. This occaisoned some excite- 



THE SLAVES DREAD A REMOVAL. 47 

ment among the slaves, but as the white people paid 
but little attention to it, it soon passed off, and the sor- 
rowful slaves put the old man's remains in a rough 
box, and conveyed them to their last resting-place. 

After the sale was over, the slaves were allowed a 
holiday, with permission to go and visit their friends 
and relatives previous to their departure for their new 
home in a strange land. 

The slaves generally on Capt. Helm's plantation 
looked upon this removal as the greatest hardship they 
had ever met; the severest trial they had ever en- 
dured; and the separation from our old home and fel- 
low-slaves, from our relatives and the old State of Vir- 
ginia, was to us a contemplation of sorrowful interest. 
Those who remained, thought us the most unfortunate 
of human beings to be taken away off into the State 
of ISTew York, and, as they believed, beyond tho 
bounds of civilization, where we should in all proba- 
bility be destroyed by wild beasts, devoured by canni- 
bals, or scalped by the Indians. We never expected 
to meet again in this life, hence our parting interviews 
were as solemn as though we were committing our 
friends to the grave. But He whose tender mercies 
are over all his creatures, knew best what was for our 
good. 

Little did Capt. Helm think when bringing his slaves 
to New York that in a few short years, they would be 
singing the song of deliverance from Slavery's thrall- 



48 IIORSE-RACING AND IT3 CONSEQUENCES. 

dom ; and as little thought he of the great and painful 
change, to be brought about in his own circumstances. 
Could any one have looked into futurity and traced the 
difficult path, my master was to tread, — could any one 
have foreseen the end to which he must soon come, 
and related it to him in the days of his greatness and 
prosperity, he would, I am certain, have turned from 
such a narrator of misfortune in a greater rage thaa 
did Namaan when the man of God told him "to go 
and dip seven times in the Jordan." 

He could not have believed, nor could I, that in a 
few years the powerful, wealthy slaveholder, living in 
luxury and extravagance, wo^ld be so reduced that 
the necessaries of life even, were beyond his means, and 
that he must be supported by the town I 

But I anticipate. Let us return to the old planta- 
tion which seems dearer than ever, now that we are 
about to leave it forever. 

We thought Capt. Helm's prospects pretty fair, and 
yet we shuddered when we realized our condition as 
slaves. This change in our circumstances was calcu- 
lated to awaken all oui fears that had been slumber- 
ing, and bring all the perilous changes to which we 
might be subjected most vividly to mind. 

We were about to leave the land of our birth, the 
home of our childhood, and we felt that untried scenes 
were before us. We were slaves, it is true, but we 
had heart-felt emotions to suppress, when we thought 



MELANCHOLY REFLECTIONS. 49 

of leaving all that was so familar to us, and chose 
rather to " bear the ills we had, than to fly to those 
we knew not of." And oh, the terrible uncertainty of 
the future, that ever rests on the slave, even the most 
favored, was now felt with a crushing weight. To-daj, 
they are in the old familiar cabin surrounded by their 
family, relatives and friends ; to-morrow, they may be 
scattered, parted forever. The master's circumstances, 
not their own, may have assigned one to the dreadful 
slave-pen, and another to the distant rice-swamp ; and 
it is this continual dread of some perilous future that 
holds in check every joyous emotion, every lofty aspi- 
ration, of the most favored slave at the South. They 
know that their owners indulge in high living, and 
they are well aware also that their continual indul- 
gences engender disease, which make them very liable 
to sudden death ; or their master may be killed in a 
duel, or at a horse-race, or in a drunken brawl ; then 
his creditors are active in looking after the estate ; and 
next, the blow of the auctioneer's hammer separates 
them perhaps for life. 

Now, after the lapse of so many years, when my 
thoughts wander back, as they often do, to my native 
State, I confess that painful recollections drive from 
my mind those joyful emotions that should ever arise 
in the heart of man, when contemplating the familiar 
scenes of his youth, and especially when recurring to 
the venerable shades and the sheltering roof under 
C 



50 HORSE-RACING AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 

which he was born. True, around the well-remem- 
bered spot where our childhood's years were spent, 
recollection still loves to linger; yet memory, ever 
ready with its garnered store, paints in glowing colors, 
Virginia's crouching slaves in the foreground. Her 
loathsome slave-pens and slave markets — chains, 
whips and instruments of torture ; and back of all 
this is as truthfully recorded the certain doom, the re- 
tributive justice, that will sooner or later overtake her; 
and with a despairing sigh I turn away from the im- 
aginary view of my native State. 

What though she may have been justly styled, 
" The Mother of Presidents ?" What avails the honor 
of being the birth-place of the brave and excellent 
Washington, while the prayers and groans of the 
down-trodden African daily ascend to heaven for re- 
dress? What though her soil be fertile, yielding a 
yearly product of wealth to its possessors? And 
what matter is it, that their lordly mansions are em- 
bowered in the shade of trees of a century's growth, 
if, through their lofty and tangled branches, we espy 
the rough cabin of the mangled bondman, and know 
that the soil on which he labors has drunk his heart's 
blood? 

Ah ! to me, life's sweetest memories are all embit- 
tered. Slavery had cast its dark and fearful shadow 
over my childhood, youth, and early manhood, and I 
went out from the land of my birth, a fettered slave. 



EXTRA VAG^yS^CE OF CAPT. HELM. 51 

A land which I can regard only as " the house of 
bondage and the grave of freedom." But God forgive 
me for having envied mj master his fair prospects at 
this time. 

After the sale of the plantation, Capt. Helm was in 
possession of quite a large sum of money, and having 
never paid much attention to his pecuniary interests, 
he acted as if there could be no end of it. He realized 
about forty thousand dollars from the sale of his estate 
in Virginia, which would have been a pretty sum in 
the hands of a man who had been accustomed to look 
after his own interests ; but under the management of 
one who had all his life lived and prospered on the 
unrequited toil of slaves, it was of little account. He 
bought largely of every thing he thought necessary 
for himself or the comfort of his family, for which he 
always paid the most extravagant prices. The Captain 
was not as well qualified to take care of himself and 
family as some of his slaves were ; but he thought 
differently, and so the preparations for leaving the old 
plantation for a home in the wilds of New York, 
went on under his direction, and at last we bade a 
final adieu to our friends and all we held dear in the 
State of Yirginia. 



CHAPTEE lY 



JOUENEY TO OUR NEW HOME IN NEW YORK. 1 

ALL things having been prepared for our depart- ' 

ure, our last " Good-bye" spoken, and our last I 

look taken of the old plantation, we started, amid the ; 

sobs and prolonged cries of separating families, in ■ 

company with our master, the overseer and another ^ 

white man named Davis, who went with us to take i 

back the five-horse "Pennsylvania team," which was ; 

provided for the conveyance of the food for the slaves, ; 

and what little baggage they might have, and also i 
that of the overseer. 

Capt. Helm had determined to leave his family until j 

he could get his slaves settled in their future quarters, \ 

and a home provided for himself, when they were ; 
expected to join him. 

"We traveled northward, through Maryland, Penn- i 

sylvania, and a portion of ISTew York, to Sodus Bay, < 

where we halted for some time. We made about , 






FAREWELL TO OLD VIRGINIA. 58 

twenty miles per day, camping out every night, and 
reached that place after a march of twenty days. 
Every morning the overseer called the roll, when 
every slave must answer to his or her name, felling to 
the ground with his cowhide, any delinquent who 
failed to speak out in quick time. After the roll had 
been called, and our scanty breakfast eaten, we 
marched on again, our company presenting the ap- 
pearance of some numerous caravan crossing the desert 
of Sahara. "When we pitched our tents for the night, 
the slaves must immediately set about cooking not 
their supper only, but their breakfast, so as to be 
ready to start early the next morning, when the tents 
were struck; and we proceeded on our journey in this 
way to the end. 

At Sodus Bay there was then one small tavern, 
kept by a man named Sill. 

The bay is ten miles in length and from a half to 
two miles in breadth, and makes an excellent harbor. 
The surrounding country then was almost an unbroken 
wilderness. 

After Capt. Helm had rested a few days at Sodus, 
he went six miles up the bay and purchased a large 
tract of land lying on both sides of that beautiful 
sheet of water, and put his slaves on to clear and cul- 
tivate it. Then came the "tug of war." Neither the 
overseer nor the slaves had the least knowledge of 
clearing land, and that was the first thing to be done. 



5-4 jouP.:N'Er to our new home. ] 

It was useless to consult the Captain, for he knew still 
less about matters of that kind. To obviate this 
difficulty, our master bought out a My. Cummings, 
who had some cleared land on the west side of the 
baj. On this he put the overseer and a part of the 
slaves, and then hired a Mr. Herrington to take charge 
of the remainder. Herrington and his gang of slaves 
was sent to the east side to chop down the heavy 
timber and clear the land for cultivation, all of which 
had first to be learned, for we knew nothing of felling 
trees, and the poor slaves had rather a hard time of it. 

Provisions were scarce and could not be procured 
for cash in that section. There was no com to be had, 
and we had but httle left. "We had no neighbors to 
assist us in this trying time, and we came near starva- 
tion. True, the wild, romantic region in which we 
were located abounded in game, — elk, deer, bear, 
panther, and wolves, roamed abroad through the dense 
forest, in great abundance, but the business of the 
slaves was not hunting or fishing, but clearing the 
land, preparatory to raising crops of grain the coming 
season. 

At last Capt. Helm chartered a boat, and manned 
it to go to the mouth of the Genesee Eiver to buy 
corn. They embarked under favorable auspices, but 
soon there came on such a tremendous storm, that 
the boat could no longer be managed, and the crew in 
despair threw themselves on the bottom of the boat to 



STARVATION THREATENED. 55 

await their inevitable destruction, when one of their 
number, a colored man named Dunbar, sprang to the 
helm, and with great difficulty succeeded in running her 
safely into a Canadian port, where they were obliged to 
part with every thing in their possession to obtain the 
means to return to their famiUes in Sodus, who had 
given them up as lost. But, to the great joy of all, 
they came back at last with their lives, but with 
nothing for the famishing slaves. Before another 
boat could be sent for our relief, we were reduced to 
the last extremity. We became so weak we could not 
work, and it was difficult to drag ourselves about, as we 
were now obliged to do, to gather up all the old bones 
we could find, break them up fine and then boil them; 
which made a sort of broth sufficient barely to sustain 
life. This we drank, and merely existed, until at last, 
the long looked for boat returned, loaded with por- 
vision, which saved us from starvation and gave U3 
strength to pursue our labor. 



58 rsrciDENTS at sod us. 

chastisement, and tlie overseer was obliged to content 
himself with threatening what he would do if he 
caught him on the west side of the bay. 

A short time after, the overseer called at the cabin 
of one of the slaves, and was not a little surprised to 
find there the refractory slave, Wilhams, in company 
with three other men. He immediately walked up to 
him and asked him some question, to which Williams 
made no reply. Attended, as he always was, by his 
ferocious bull-dog, he flourished his cowhide in great 
wrath and demanded an instant reply, but he receiv- 
ed none, whereupon he struck the slave a blow with 
the cowhide. Instantly "Wilhams sprang and caught 
him by the throat and held him writhing in his vise- 
like grasp, until he succeeded in getting possession of 
the cowhide, with which he gave the overseer such a 
flogging as slaves seldom get. Williams was seized at 
once by the dog who endeavored to defend his brutal 
master, but the other slaves came to the rescue, and 
threw the dog into a huge fire which was near by, 
from which, after a singeing, he ran off, howling worse 
than his master when in the hands of Wilhams. He 
foamed and swore and still the blows descended; then 
he commanded the slaves to assist him, but as none 
obeyed, he commenced begging in the most humble 
manner, and at last entreated them as " gentlemen" to 
spare him; but all to no purpose. When Williams 
thought he had thrashed him suSiciently, he let him 




ueffMXscJ 



"Instantly Williams sprang and caught him by the throat and held him writh- 
ing in his vice-like grasp, until he succeeded in getting possession of the cow-hide, 
with which he gave the overseer such a flogging as slaves seldom get." page 58. 



THE OYERSEER RETURNS TO VIRGINIA. 

go and hurried to liis boat and rowed down tlie bay, 
instead of crossing it. The overseer no sooner found 
himself at hberty than he ran out, calling to a servant 
girl to bring his rifle, which was loaded. The rifle 
was brought, but before he could get to the bay, 
Williams had gone beyond his reach; but unfortu- 
nately another- boat was at this moment crossing the 
bay, which he, mad with rage, fired into. The men in 
the boat immediately cried out to him not to repeat 
the shot, but he was so angry that he swore he would 
shoot somebody, and sent another bullet after them. 
No one was hurt, however, but the brave overseer 
was vanquished. Crest-fallen and unrevenged, he 
ehortly after called on Capt. Helm for a settlement, 
which was granted, and bidding a final adieu to the 
"Grenesee Country," he departed for Yirginia, where 
he could beat slaves without himself receiving a cow- 
hiding. No one regretted his absence, nor do I think 
any but the most heartless would cordially welcome 
his return to the land of Slavery. 



CHAPTER YI. 



REMOVAL FROM SODUS TO BATH. 

CAPT. Helm went to Virginia for Ms family, and 
returning with them, concluded to locate Ms 
future residence in the village of Bath, Steuben 
County. He purchased a large tract of land near the 
village, a large grist mill, and two saw mills; also, 
two farms; one called the "Maringo," east of the 
village; and the other, called "Epsam," north of it; 
and a fine house and lot in the village. He also kept 
a distillery, which in those days was well patronized, 
for nearly every body draok whisky; and with Capt. 
Helm it was a favorite beveraci'e. 

The slaves were removed to Bath, where our master 
was well suited, and was everywhere noted for h^'s 
hospitahty. He had a great deal of land to cultivate, 
and carried on a multiplicity of business. 

Soon after we were settled at Bath, Capt. Helm's 
eldest daughter, Jenny, waa married to Mr. John 



WEDDIXG OF MISS JEN^ST HELM. 61 

FitzliTigli, her cousin, who had come from Yirgiida to 
claim his bride. 

The wedding was a splendid affair. Xo pains were 
spared to make it more imposing than any thing that 
had ever happened in that country. ]N'eyer before had 
the quiet village of Bath seen such splendor. All 
that wealth, power and ambition could do, was done 
to make the event one of great briUiancy. Europe 
contributed her fiill proportion; Turkey, the Indias, 
East and "West, were heavily taxed to produce their 
jQ.nest fabrics to adorn the bride and bridal guests ; and 
contribute delicacies to add elegance to the festal scene. 
Two days previous to the wedding, the in\T.ted guests 
began to arrive with their retinue of servants, and on 
the evening of the marriage the large mansion was 
thrown open, and there was the most magnificent 
assemblage I ever beheld. In the drawing-room, 
where the ceremony took place, every thing was 
surpassingly elegant. Costly chandeliers shed their 
light on the rich tapestry, and beautiful dresses glitter- 
ing with diamonds, and the large mirrors everywhere 
reflecting the gay concourse. While the servants 
were preparing supper it was announced that the hour 
had arrived for the ceremony to commence. The 
bridal pair took their place in the center of the apart- 
ment. Pearls, diamonds, and jewelry glittered on the 
bride with such luster, that it was almost painful to 
the eye to look upon her. 



62 EEMOVAL FEOM SODUS TO BATH. 

The minister, after asking God to bless tlie assembled 
guests, and those he was about to unite in the holy 
bonds of wedlock, proceeded in a very solemn and 
impressive manner with the marriage service. The 
ceremony concluded, and good wishes having been 
expressed over the sparkling wine, the man of 
God took his leave, two hundred dollars richer than 
when he came. The company were all very happy, 
or appeared so; mirth reigned supreme, and every 
countenance wore a smile. They were seated at tables 
loaded with luxuries of every description, and while 
partaking, a band of music enlivened the scene. 

All business was suspended for several days, the 
wedding party making a tour of ten days to Niagara 
Falls. After a while, however, affairs assumed their 
■usual aspect, and business took its regular routine. 

The grist mill belonging to the Captain was the 
only one for many miles around, and was a source of 
great profit to him ; the saw mills also, were turning 
out a large quantity of lumber, which was in good 
demand; and the distillery kept up a steaming busi- 
ness. It yielded, however, a handsome income to 
Capt. Helm, who was now, for the first time since I 
knew him, overseeing his affairs himself, dispensing 
altogether with the service of a regularly installed 
overseer. 

The oldest son of our master had been absent from 
home for sometime, nor did he return to attend hia 



feaot: helm obtains a commission. 63 

sister's grand wedding. He liad souglit and obtained 
a commission in the United States service as a Lieu- 
tenant. This had been his own choice; he had 
preferred the service and hardships of a soldier, to a 
plantation well stocked with slaves, and the quietude 
of domestic life. He had cheerfully given up his 
friends and prospects as a planter, and entered the 
service of his country. Frank Helm, the second son, 
soon followed the example of his older brother, Lina. 
He obtained a like commission, but he did not, like 
his brother^ get along quietly. His prospects as an 
officer were soon blighted, and all hope of being 
serviceable to his country vanished forever. 



CHAPTER YII. 



DUELING. 



LIN'A Helm was an easy, good-natured, clever fel- 
low ; but his brother Frank was his opposite in 
nearly every thing ; proud, fractious and unyielding. 
As might be expected, Frank, soon after entering the 
army, got into an "affair of honor," according to the 
duelist's code of laws. He was not, however, the 
principal in the difficulty. One of his friends and a 
brother officer, had a quarrel with a gentleman whom 
he challenged to mortal combat. Frank was the 
bearer of his friend's challenge, and on presenting it, 
the gentleman refused to accept it, saying that the 
challenger " was no gentleman." Then, according to 
the rules of dueling, no alternative was left for Frank, 
but to take his brother officer's place, and light. This 
he did and came from the bloody field disabled for life. 
In consequence of his lameness, he was under the ne- 
cessity of resigning his commission in the army, which 



he did, and came liome a cripple, and nearly unfitted 
for any kind of business whatever 

While on the subject of dueling, permit me to 
record some of the incidents of another " affair of 
honor," which occurred in the District of Columbia, 
between Gen. Mason and Mr. M' Carter, two antago- 
nistic politicians. 

M' Carter offered his vote to the inspectors, and Ma- 
son challenged it. M'Carter offered to swear it in, 
when Mason said if he did so he would perjure him- 
self This blew what appeared to be but a spark into 
an angry blaze, and a duel was momentarily expected ; 
but their warlike propensities subsided into a news- 
paper combat, which was kept up for several weeks, 
each party supposing they had the advantage of their 
adversary. In this stage of the quarrel. Gen. Jackson, 
with one of his aid-de-camps, Dr. Bruno, visited Wash- 
ington. Dr. Bruno was a friend of Gen. Mason's, and 
to him the General submitted the correspondence, 
desiring his opinion relative to the advantage one had 
obtained over the other. Dr. Bruno decided against 
his friend, which probably exasperated him still more, 
and the General expressed his determination to fight 
his antagonist. Dr. Bruno wrote to M'Carter to come 
to Washington, and he came immediately, and was as 
readily waited upon by the Doctor, who inquired if he 
would receive a communication from his friend. Gen. 
Mason. M'Carter replied, that he " would receive no 



06 DUELING. 

communication from Gen. Mason, except a cliallenge 
to fight." The challenge was therefore sent, and 
accepted, and the Doctor appointed to make the neces- 
sary arrangements for the duel. He proposed the 
weapons to be pistols, and the distance, ten paces ; to 
which M'Carter objected, because he said, "the Gene- 
ral was a dead shot with the j)istol, while he hardly 
knew how to use one." Then it was left to M'Carter 
to choose the mode of warfare. He proposed muskets 
and ten paces distance. This was agreed upon, and 
finally the morning arrived for the conflict, and people 
began to assemble in great numbers to witness this 
murderous scene. 

The belligerent parties unflinchingly took their 
place, each with his loaded musket at his shoulder, 
and gazing in each other's face, with feelings of the 
most bitter hatred, while their eyes flashed vengeance. 

Oh ! what a state of mind was this in which to 
meet inevitable death? How could intelligent men, 
or gentlemen, if you please so to term them, look 
placidly on such a horrid scene ? Was there no heart 
of humanity to interfere and arrest the murderous 
designs of these madmen? Alas, no! The slave- 
holder's " code of honor" must be acknowledged, 
though it outrage the laws of God and his country. 

Dr. Bruno asks, " Gentlemen, are you ready ?" and 
the duelists take their deadly aim at each other. The 
signal to fire is given, and both weapons are discharged, 



GENEEAL MASON KILLED. 67 

and wlien tlie smoke had cleared away, what a spec- 
tacle was there presented to the duellist and spectator? 
Gen. Mason, a husband, a father, a statesman, and a 
kind friend, lies bleeding, and gasping for breath. 
He is no more! Who will bear to his loving and 
unsuspecting wife, the sad intelligence of her sudden 
bereavement ? Who will convey his hfeless body to 
his late residence, and throw grief and consternation 
into the bosom of his family, and drape in sadness his 
whole household ? And yet this painful task must be 
performed. The family of General Mason remained 
entirely ignorant of what was transpiring regarding 
the duel, until his mangled corps was brought into his 
dwelling, from which he had so recently gone forth in 
all the vigor of life and manhood. And here let us 
drop the curtain, nor intrude on that scene of domestic 
afliction around the deserted hearth-stone of the 
bereaved family of General Mason. 

But where is Mr. McCarter, the more fortunate party 
in the duel ? Hurrying away from the frightful scene, 
his hands dripping with the blood of his fellow-man, 
he skulks about, until an opportunity is given him to 
step on board a vessel bound to a foreign port ; he 
leaves home, friends and country, in the vain hope of 
finding peace of mind, and ridding himself of that guilt 
and censure which must attach itself to a crime so 
heinous as that of taking the life of another. 
I can but regard the inhuman practice of duehng 
as the legitimate fruit of Slavery. 



68 DUELING. 

Men who have been raised in the Slave StateSj 
where, if the laws do not give them the power, they 
do not restrain them from cruelly punishing every 
offender with personal violence, even unto death, if 
their insulted dignity seems to demand it. It is, how- 
ever, encouraging to know that for a few years past 
the practice of dueling has somewhat fallen into disre- 
pute among the more humane and candid class of 
community. 



CHAPTER YIII. 



HORSE-EACING A^STD GEN"EIIAL TRAINING. 

AFTER the return of tlie wedding party, Mr. Fitz- 
liiigh purchased a tract of land near that of 
Capt, Helm, on which the newly-married couple com- 
menced keeping house. They, however, became 
dissatisfied with their location, and soon after sold 
their possessions and returned to the South. 

Capt. Helm still continued to take the oversight of 
his slaves, and was out every day, superintending his 
business, just as his overseer used to do. 

About this time a man named Henry Tower came 
to Bath to hire "slave boys," as we were called. 
Tlie Captain hired to him Simon and myself, and a 
Mr. Baker also hired to him one slave named Yol. 
McKenzie. We three started for Dresden, Ontario 
County, where we arrived in due time. 

Mr. Tower had just bought a tract of land, three 
miles this side of the village of Lyons, on the Canan- 
daigua outlet. Here Mr. Tower contemplated making 



70 HORSE-RACING AND GENERAL TRAINING. 

great improvements, building mills, opening stores 
&c. This tract of land was comparatively wild, there 
being but a small frame house for a dwelling, one for 
a store, and another for a blacksmith shop. Mr. 
Tower had two brothers ; James, the eldest, who took 
charge of the store, and John, the younger, who took 
charge of the hands who worked on the farm ; Henry 
himself superintending the building of the mills. This 
firm had a great number of men in their employ that 
year. I was kept busy helping the women about the 
cooking and house-work. And here, for the first time 
in my life, I had a comfortable bed to sleep on, and 
plenty of wholesome food to eat ; which was some- 
thing both new and strange to me. 

The Towers were thorough-going business-men; 
they built a large grist mill, with four run of stone, 
and also a distillery. In those days it was customary 
for nearly all classes to drink sj^irituous liquors ; hence, 
the distilleries were sources of great pecuniary interest 
to those who owned them. But having lived to see 
the dreadful evils which the drinking of alcoholic 
beverages have produced on community, I can hardly 
speak of distilleries in the favorable light in which 
they were then regarded. 

The Towers, with commendable enterprize, cleared 
a great number of acres of land during the first year 
T lived with them, besides doing a heavy business in 
the mill, Btore and distillery. 



ATTEND A HORSE-RACE. 

It was customary tlien for men to assemble at some 
public place for the purpose of drinking whisky and 
racing horses. 

One Saturday afternoon there was to be a race, and 
all was excitement. Being young, I wished to go 
with the rest. I hurried through my work as fast as 
possible, and then, with a trembling heart, set off in 
search of my master, fearing lest he would refuse me 
the simple request. But he happened to be in uncom- 
mon good humor, and readily gave his consent ; and 
away I went, " as happy as a lark." When I reached 
the race-ground, they were just preparing to run the 
horses. Seeing me, they knew me to be a poor friend- 
less little slave boy, helpless and unprotected, and they 
could therefore do with me as they pleased, and have 
some fine sport at my expense. 

When I was asked to ride one of the fast horses, I 
felt proud of the honor conferred, and was assisted to 
mount, feeling highly elated with the lofty position I 
had gained. 

The word "go," was shouted, and the horse whirled 
off, and it seemed to me as if he flew with the speed of 
lightning. My hat fell off the first thing ; and there 
I was, clinging with might and main to the neck of 
the fiery animal, my head bare, my feet bootless, and 
my old stripped shirt blown from my back, and 
streaming out behind, and fluttering like a banner in 
the breeze ; my ragged pants off at the knees, and my 



72 HORSE-RACING AND GENERAL TRAINING. 

long legs dangling down some length below ; and at 
the same time crying ''Whoa I whoa I" as loud as I 
could. Nor was this all ; frightened as I was, nearly 
to death, I cast a despairing look behind me, and the 
loud, derisive laugh of the bystanders rung in my 
ears. 

Ludicrous as I must have appeared, this was too 
much, — I felt a giddiness coming over me, my brain 
reeled, my hold relaxed, and the next instant I had 
fallen to the ground, where all consciousness left me. 
When I came to my senses I was lying in bed, sur- 
rounded by all the appurtenances of a dying person. 

The first thing I heard was Mr. Tower scolding the 
men who put me on the horse, and threatening them 
with a law-suit for presuming to do such a thing with- 
out his permission. Mr. Tower considered himself 
holden to Capt. Helm for my safe return, and was 
therefore justly indignant at their placing my life in 
such peril. It was indeed a narrow escape, for the 
horse was running with all his speed when I fell. My 
bones were unbroken, however, and I suppose it must 
have been the tremendous jar I got when I fell that 
rendered me unconscious ; nor do I think it impossible 
that the fright may not have contributed somewhat to 
the catastrophe. 

It was while I was living with that gentleman that 
the greatest " general training" ever known in Western 
Kcw York, came off at " Oak's Comers," in the town 



GO TO ''GENERAL TR.VJNING." 73 

of Phelps. It really seemed to me that the whole 
world were going to the training, and I, of course, felt 
a great curiosity to go where "all creation" appeared to 
be going. Mr. Tower permitted me to go, and I 
started off in high spirits. When I arrived within 
two or three miles of the place the road was almost 
blocked up with people, and when I got to Oak's 
Corners the crowd beggared all description ; carriages 
of all sorts were there, containing eatables of all kinds, 
and tents of all dimensions were on the road-side, for 
the houses could not begin to accommodate the people. 
The entire brigade was to meet at that place, and Grov. 
Lewis was expected to review the different companies, 
and all were anxious to see the Grovernor, for, in those 
days, it was a rare thing to see so high a dignitary in 
Western U^ew York ; the eastern portion of the State 
having had every thing of that kind their own way. 

ISTor was the means and mode of traveling brought 
to such perfection as now. The roads were new and 
rough, and our best public conveyances only the slow 
lumbering stage-coach ; yet, notwithstanding these 
inconveniences, there was an innumerable crowd 
gathered at that place. I spent the day in walking 
about the encampment, and seeing what was to be 
seen, for it was all new to me. 

Officers were riding over the ground, dressed in 
uniform, and mounted on their splendid steeds : their 
plumes waving over their cocked-hats in true military 
D 



74 HORSE-RACING AND GENERAL TRAINING, 

array. A band of music, as is usual, accompanied tlie 
soldiers. There was also a '' sliam-figlit," before the 
breaking up of the encampment, and it was really ter- 
rifying to me, who had never seen a battle fought, to 
witness two columns of troops drawn up, and, at the 
roll of the drum, behold them engage in deadly con- 
flict, to all appearance, and the smoke curling up in 
a blackened mass toward heaven ; and, above all, the 
neighing of horses, with the feigned groans of the 
wounded and dying. I inwardly prayed to God that 
those men might ever draw their weapons in a feigned 
encounter. 

The first night I spent at the encampment was one 
long to be remembered ; it was like the confusion of 
Babel. Of all the hideous noises I ever heard 
none could exceed those made there that night. They 
fired guns, quarreled, drank, and swore, till day light. 
There was such a crowd at the tavern that I did not 
suppose I could get a bed, so I threw myself down 
upon a door-step, and began to compose myself to 
sleep, when a man came and wakened me, inquiring 
at the same time whose boy I was. I replied that I 
lived with Mr. Tower. "Follow me," said he; I 
arose and followed him into the house, where he pro- 
cured for me a bed, to be shared with another "boy," 
who had already occupied it. 

I had just began to dose, when the explosion of fire- 
arms startled all in the house. The keeper of the 



NAEROWLY ESCAPE BEIKG SHOT. 75 

tavem ran up stairs in great alarm, and when an ex- 
amination was made, we found that a drunken fellow 
had discharged his musket in the room below the one 
where we were sleeping, and that the ball had passed 
up through the second floor and completely through 
the bed on which I slept, to the roof, where, having, 
passed through that also, rolled from thence to the 
ground ! And» yet, strange as it may appear, no one 
was injured, though the house was filled to overflow- 
ing with guests. 

There were groups of disorderly and drunken men 
continually roaming over the camp-ground at night, 
who seemed to have no other object than to annoy 
others, and torment any one they might find sleeping, 
by shaking them, or, if soundly asleep, dragging them 
out of their beds by their feet. Among these thus 
annoyed by them was a physician from Canandaigua, 
Being a passionate man, they seemed to think it fine 
sport to arouse him from sleep and hear him scold. 
The first time they dragged him from his tent he 
merely remonstrated in a very gentlemanly manner, 
and quietly crept back again. The rowdies were dis- 
appointed; they had expected a '^ scene." As soon as 
he was asleep they attacked him again, dragging him 
out by the heels ; then he was angry, and told them 
if they repeated the oJBfence it would be at the peril of 
their lives, and a third time retired to his tent ; but a 
third party soon came, and one, more bold than the 



78 HORSE-RACIKG AND GEI^fERAL TRAINING. 

military spirit, and siglied for the liberty to go out 
'* on the lines" and fight the British. 

The martial music, the waving plumes, and magni- 
ficent uniform, had driven from my mind entirely the 
bloodshed and carnage of the battle field ; beside, I was 
sick and tired of being a slave, and felt ready to do 
almost any tiling to get where I could act and feel like 
a free man. 

I became acquainted with a Mr. McClure, a mer- 
chant in Bath, who, while on a journey to Philadel- 
phia, to purchase goods, was taken suddenly ill and 
died ; when his brother, George McClure, came on to 
attend to his diseased brother's business. He was a 
fine, persevering kind of man, and very soon got to be 
General McClure, and commanded the brigade in 
Steuben County, and, as such, was liable to be called 
at any time when his services were required, to go to 
the frontier and guard our lines from the invasion of 
the English army. 

To him I applied for a situation as waiter, which he 
readily agreed to give me if I could get the consent of 
Captain Helm. I thought there would be no trouble 
about that ; and oh ! how I dreamed of and anticipated 
the happiness of being someUiing beside a slave, for a 
little while at least. Almost every day I went tx) the 
store to talk to Gen. McClure of this greatest happiness 
imaginable, " going to the lines [" and was impatient 
for the chance to arrive that would send me there. 



DESinE TO BECOME A SOLDIER FRUSTRATED. 79 

At last G-en. McClure wrote to Gen. Armstrong, to 
say that lie was ready to obey any order that he miglit 
send him, and march to *' the lines," if his services 
were needed ; and, to my inexpressible joy, marching 
orders were returned. I nearly flew in search of Capt. 
Ilelm, never once suspecting that he would object; 
because I knew that he did not then require my services 
himself, and the pay would be quite as good as he had 
been receiving for my time; besides I had so com- 
pletely set my heart on going, that it was impossible 
for me to dream of a disappointment so bitter as that 
of being denied going " to the lines." 

Oh ! how then were my high hopes fallen, and bow 
much more hateful appeared that slavery which had 
blighted all my military prospects? Nor was Capt. 
Helm's heartless and mercenary reply to my humble 
pleading any antidote to my disappointed feelings and 
desire for freedom. He said, " you shall not go ; I 
will permit northing of the kind, so let there be an end 
to it. The pay is all well enough, I know, but if you 
get killed your wages will stop; and. then who, do 
you suppose, will indemnify me for the loss? Go 
about your business, and let me hear no more of such, 
nonsense !" 

There was an emergency I had not provided for ; 
and, as I then believed, the master could make no 
demand on or for the slaves beyond the grave, I was 
silent ; but both master and myself were mistaken on 



80 HOESE-KACING AND GEKERAL TRArNnSTG. 

that jDoint ; for I have since learned numerous instances 
where slaves have fought and died in the service of 
their master's country, and the slave-owner received 
his wages up to the hour of his death, and then 
recovered of the United States the full value of his 
person as property ! 

Gen. McClure left soon after for the frontier; my 
saddened heart followed him, and that was all; my 
body was in slavery still, and painful though it was, 
I must quietly submit. 

The General, however, reaped but few if any 
laurels in that campaign ; he burned the small village 
of Kewark, in Canada, for which he got very little 
credit on either side of the lake ; so I comforted my- 
self as well as I could with the reflection, that all who 
"went to the wars" did not return covered with glory 
and laurels of victory. 

I continued to live with the Towers; and in the 
fall of that year, I had the misfortune to cut my foot 
badly. While chopping iire wood at the door, I acci- 
dentally struck my ax against a post, which glanced 
the blow in such a manner that it came down with 
sufficient force to nearly sever my great toe from 
my left foot, gashing upward completely through 
the large joint, which made a terrible wound. Dr. 
Taylor was immediately called, and sewed the flesh 
together, taking two stitches on the upper, and one 
on the under, side of the foot, before it began to swell ; 



WOUNDED FOOT — RETURN TO BATH. 81 

but when the swelling came on, the stitches on the 
upper side gave way, which occasioned the toe to fall 
over so much, that I have been slightly lame from 
that day to this. For several weeks I was unable to 
be moved, and was regularly attended by Dr. Taylor, 
but as soon as it could be done without danger, I was 
taken back to Capt. Helm's, where I found things in 
much the same condition as when I left them over 
a year before. 

On leaving the family of Mr. Tower, I endeavored 
to express to them as well in my power the gratitude 
I felt for their kindness, and the attention I had re- 
ceived during my lameness. 

We returned to Bath in a sleigh, and arrived with- 
out accident or any great suffering. But the kind 
treatment I had always received from the Messrs. 
Tower and family, made it very hard for me to 
reconcile myself to my former mode of living; 
especially now that I was lame and weak, from sick- 
ness and long confinement; besides, it was cold 
weather. Oh ! how hard it did seem to me, after 
having a good bed and plenty of bed clothes every 
night for so long time^to now throw myself down, 
like a dog, on the " softest side'^ of a rough board, with- 
out a pillow, and without a particle of bedding to 
cover me during the long cold nights of winter. To 
be reduced from a plentiful supply of good, whole- 
some food, to the mere pittance which the Captain, 
allowed his slaves, seemed to me beyond endurance, 
J)* 



82 HORSE-RACING AKD GENERAL TRAESTING. 

And jet I had always lived and fared thus, but I 
never felt so bitterly these hardships and the cruelties 
of Slavery as I did at that time ; making a virtue of 
necessity, however, I turned my thoughts in another 
direction. 

I managed to purchase a spelling book, and set 
about teaching myself to read, as best I could. Every 
spare moment I could find was devoted to that em- 
ployment, and when about my work I could catch 
now and then a stolen glance at my book, just to 
refresh my memory with the simple lesson I was 
trying to learn. But here Slavery showed its cloven 
foot in all its hideous deformity. It finally reached the 
ears of my master that I was learning to read; and then, 
if he saw me with a book or a paper in my hand, oh, 
how he would swear at me, sending me off in a hurry, 
about some employment. Still I persevered, but was 
more careful about being seen making any attempt to 
learn to read. At last, however, I was discovered, 
and had to pay the penalty of my determination. 

I had been set to work in the sugar bush, and I 
took my spelling book with me. When a spare 
moment occurred I sat down to study, and so absorbed 
was I in the attempt to blunder through my lesson, 
that I did not hear the Captain's son-in-law coming 
until he was fairly upon me. He sprang forward, 
caught my poor old spelling book, and threw it into 
the fire, where it was burned to ashes ; and then came 



I 



FLOGGED FOR LEARNING TO READ. 83 

my turn. He gave me first a severe flogging, and 
then swore if lie ever caught me with another book, 
he would "whip every inch of skin off my back," kc. 
This treatment, however, instead of giving me the 
least idea of giving it up, only made me look upon it 
as a more valuable attainment. Else, why should my 
oppressors feel so unwilling that their slaves should 
possess that which they thought so essential to 
themselves ? Even then, with my back bleeding and 
smarting from the punishment I had received, I 
determined to learn to read and write, at all hazards, 
if my life was only spared. About this time Capt. 
Helm began to sell off his slaves to different per- 
sons, as he could find opportunity, and sometimes 
at a great sacrifice. It became apparent that the 
Captain, instead of prospering in business, was getting 
poorer every day. 



CHAPTEE IX 



DEATH BED AND BBIDAL SCENES. 

NEITHER Capt. Helm nor liis wife made an/ 
religions pretensions. I hardly know whetlier 
or not thej were avowed infidels ; but tliej alike 
ridiculed all religious professions and possessed some 
Ycry singular notions regarding life and death. 

I have often heard the Captain say, that no person 
need die unless they choose to do so ; and his wife 
was of the same belief I have frequently heard her 
remark that if mankind would firmly resist death it 
would flee from them. 

An opportunity, however, was soon after given to 
test the truth of this strange dogma. Mrs. Helm's 
health began to decline, but she would pay no atten- 
tion to it, following her usual course and regular 
routine of household duties ; but all in vain ; she was 
taken down, alarmingly ill, and it became apparent to 
all, that the "king of terrors" had chosen his victim. 




" If any one had ever envied Mrs. Helm in her drawing-room, richly attired and 
sparkling with jewels, or as she moved with the stately step of a queen among her 
trembling slaves, they should have beheld her on her death-bed !" page 85. 



DEATH OF MRS. HELM. ^ 85 

She tried with all her natural energy of character, to 
baffle his pursuit and escape his steady approach, but 
all to no purpose. " The valley and the shadow of 
death" were before her, and she had no assurance tliat 
the "rod and staff" of the Almighty would sustain 
and comfort her through the dark passage. She 
shrank with perfect horror from the untried scenes of 
the future. 

If any one had ever envied Mrs. Helm in her 
drawing-room, richly attired and sparkling with jewels, 
or as she moved with the stately step of a queen 
among her trembling slaves, they should have beheld 
her on her death bed ! They should have listened to 
her groans and cries for help, while one piercing 
shriek after another rang through the princely man- 
sion of which she had been the absolute mistress ! 

Surrounded as she was with every elegance and 
luxury that wealth could procure, she lay shrieking 
out her prayers for a short respite, a short lengthening 
out of the life she had spent so unprofitably ; her eyes 
wandering restlessly about the apartment, and her 
hands continually clinching the air, as if to grasp 
something that would prevent her from sinking into 
the embrace of death ! There was not a slave present, 
who would have exchanged places with her. Kot 
one of those over whom she had ruled so arbitrarily 
would have exchanged their rough, lowly cabin and 
quiet conscience, for all the wealth and power she had 
ever possessed. 



86 DEATH BED AND BRIDAL SCENES. 

jCSTotliing of all slie had enjoyed in life, nor all that 
she yet called her own, could give her one hour of hfo 
or one peaceful moment in death ! 

Oh ! what a scene was that I The wind blew, and 
great drops of niin fell on the casements. The room 
lighted only with a single taper; the wretched wife 
mingles her dying groans with the howling of the 
storm, until, as the clock struck the hour of midnight 
she fell back upon her pillow and expired, amid the 
tears and cries of her family and friends, who not only 
deplored the loss of a wife and mother, but were 
grieved by the manner in which she died. 

The slaves were all deeply affected by the scene ; 
some doubtless truly lamented the death of their 
mistress; others rejoiced that she was no more, and all 
were more or less frightened. One of them I remem- 
ber went to the pump and wet his face, so as to appear 
to weep with the rest. 

What a field was opened for reflection, by the 
agonizing death of Mrs. Helm ? Bom and reared in 
affluence; well educated and highly accomplished, 
possessed of every means to become a useful woman 
and an ornament to her sex ; which she most likely 
would have been, had she been instructed in the 
Christian rehgibn, and had lived under a different 
influence. As infidelity ever deteriorates from the 
female character, so Slavery transforms more than one, 
otherwise excellent woman, into a feminine monster. 



DANGER OF THE SOCIAL GLASS. 87 

Of Mrs. Helm, witli her active intellect and great 
force of character, it made a tyrannical demon. Her 
race, however, is ended ; her sun gone down in dark- 
ness, and her soul we must leave in the keeping of a 
righteous God, to whom we must all give an account 
for the deeds done in the body. But in view of the 
transitory pleasures of this life; the unsatisfactory 
realization of wealth, and the certainty of death, we 
may well inquire, " What shall it profit a man to gain 
the whole world and lose his own soul ? " 

Some little time after the scene just recorded, there 
came to Bath a young physician named Henry, who 
commenced practice under very flattering prospects. 
He was an accomplished young man, well educated 
and very skillful in his profession. He was affable 
and gay in his manners, and very fond of company. 
An intimate acquaintance was soon formed with 
'Capt. Helm and family, and he called almost daily to 
chat and drink wine with the Captain, — ^both being 
quite fond of a social glass. 

One night in the depth of winter, the Doctor was 
called to see a patient who lived six miles down the 
Conhocton river. Previous, however, to the call, he 
had accepted an invitation to attend a party at Capt. 
Helm^s, and there he was found. They had music and 
dancing, while the wine passed around very freely. 
None seemed to join in the dance and other amuse 
ments of the evening with more enjoyment than did 



88 DEATH BED AND BRIDAL SCENES. 

Dr. Henry ; but after lie was sent for, it being a most 
bitter cold night, he asked the Captain for a horse to 
ride to see his patient, to which he readily assented, 
and had his fine race-horse (for the Captain had not left 
off all his old habits), brought out from the stable, and 
the Doctor sprang lightly into the saddle. Unfortu- 
nately his way led by the race-course, and when the 
trained animal came to it he started with such speed 
as to throw the Doctor to the ground, where he lay 
all that terrible cold night. In the morning, some 
person going after wood, came in sight of the Doctor 
as he was trying to creep away on his frozen hands 
and feet. He was put into the sleigh and taken to the 
village with all possible speed. All was done for him 
that could be, but his feet and legs were frozen solid. 
His uncle, Dr. Henry, was brought as soon as possible, 
who decided that nothing could save his life but the 
amputation of both legs, just below the knee. This 
was done ; but what a change in the prospects of this 
promising young man! Instead of stepping lightly 
about as he used to do, with a smiling countenance, 
he at last came forth after a tedious confinement, a 
cripple for life, hobbling about on his knees, sad and 
dejected. And what, think you, was the cause of 
this terrible calamity ? What prevented the Doctor 
from an exertion to save his life ? Wine, intoxicating 
wine, was undoubtedly the occasion of the heedle33 
and reckless conduct of both himself and Capt. Helm. 



CAPT. HELM MAREIED AGAIN. 89 

And should not this circumstance be a warning to 
parents and guardians, to young men and children, " to 
look not upon the wine when it is red," and remember 
that at last " it will bite like a serpent and sting like an 
adder? " Should it not also remind those who have 
guests to entertain, of the sinfulness of putting the 
cup to their neighbor's lips ? Certainly it should. But 
I must resume my story. 

About this time Major Thornton of Bath, died. He 
had long been an intimate friend and acquaintance of 
Capt. Helm, and as the reader is already informed of 
the death of Mrs. Helm, they will not be surprised to 
know that he began to look earnestly after the widow 
of his late friend. It become apparent that his solici- 
tude for the loneliness of Madam Thornton was not so 
much as a disconsolate widow, as that of making her 
the future Mrs. Helm; nor was it less observable that 
the new-made widow accepted the Captain's atten- 
tions with great iavor, and more as a lover than a 
comforter. 

The result was, after the Major had been dead six 
weeks, Capt. Helm was married to his widow, and 
brought her and her servants in great triumph to his 
house, giving her the charge of it. His own servants 
were discharged, and hers took their places. 

All went on pleasantly for a while ; then the slaves 
began to grow sullen and discontented; and two of 
them ran away. Capt. Helm started a mtan named 



90 DEATH BED AND BRIDAL SCE^^ES. 

Morrison, a Scotclimaii, in pursuit, wlio hunted them 
ten days, and then returned without any tidings of 
the absconding slaves. They made good their escape 
and were never heard from afterwards, by those whose 
interest suffered by the loss. 

I was one afternoon at a neighbor's house in the 
village, when I was suddenly taken so violently ill 
with pain in my head and side, that I had to be carried 
home. When we arrived there, I was allowed a 
pallet of straw to lie on, which was better than 
nothing. Day after day, my disease increased in 
violence, and my master employed a physician to 
attend me through my illness, which brought me very 
low indeed. I was constantly burning with fever, 
and so thirsty that I knew not what I would have 
given for a draught of cold water, which was denied 
me by the physician's direction. I daily grew weaker 
until I was reduced to helplessness, and was little else 
than " skin and bones." I really thought my time had 
come to die ; and when I had strength to talk, I tried 
to arrange the few little business affairs I had, and 
give my father direction concerning them. And then 
I began to examine my own condition before God. 
and to determine how the case stood between Him and 
my poor souL And "there was the rub." I had 
often excused myself, for frequent derelictions in duty, 
and often wild and passionate outbreaks, on accouni 
of the hardness of my lot, and the injustice with 



SICK-BED REFLECTIONS. 91 

which I was treated, even in my best endeavors to do 
as well as I knew how. But now, with death staring 
me in the face, I could see that though I was a friend- 
less *' slave-boy," I had not always done as well as I 
knew how ; that I had not served God as I knew I 
ought, nor had I always set a good example before my 
fellow-slaves, nor warned them as well as I might, "to 
flee the wrath to come." Then I praj^ed my Heavenly 
Father to spare me a little longer, that I might 
serve Him better; and in His mercy and gracious 
goodness, He did so; though when the fever was 
turning they gave me up ; and I could hear them say, 
when they came to feel my pulse, "he is almost gone," 
"it will soon be over,' &c., and then inquire if I 
knew them. I did, but was too weak to say so. I 
recollect with gratitude, the kindness of Mrs. H. A. 
Townsend, who sent me many delicacies and cooling 
drinks to soften the rigor of my disease ; and though 
I suppose she has long since " passed away" and gone 
to her reward, may the blessing of those who are 
ready to perish, rest upon the descendants of that 
excellent woman. 

Capt. Helm was driving on in his milling, distillery 
and farming business. He now began to see the 
necessity of treating his slaves better by far than he 
had ever done before, and granted them greater 
privileges than he would have dared to do at the 
South. Many of the slaves he had sold, were getting 
their liberty and doing well. 



CH APTEE X 



HIRED OUT TO A NEW MASTER. 

WHILE I was staying with my master at Batli, lie 
having little necessity for my services, hired me 
out to* a man by the name of Joseph Robinson, for the 
purpose of learning me to drive a team. Robinson 
lived about three miles from the village of Bath, on a 
small farm, and was not only a poor man but a very 
mean one. He was cross and heartless in his family, 
as well as tyrannical and cruel to those in his employ ; 
and having hired me as a " slave boy," he appeared 
to feel at full liberty to wreak his brutal passion on 
me at any time, whether I deserved rebuke or not ; 
nor did his terrible outbreaks of anger vent them- 
selves in oaths, curses and threatenings onlj^, but he 
would frequently draw from the cart-tongue a heavy 
iron pin, and beat me over the head with it, so unmer- 
cifully that he frequently sent the blood flowing over 
my scanty apparel, and from that to the gTound, 
before he couM feel satisfied. 



SURPRISED BY A RATTLE-SNAKE. 93 

These kind of beatings ' were not only excessively 
painful, but they always reminded me of the blows 
I had so often received from the key, in the hand of 
Mrs. Helm, when I was but a little waiter lad ; and in 
truth I must say that the effect of these heavy blows 
on the head, have followed me thus far through life ; 
subjecting me to frequent and violent head-aches, from 
which I never expect to be entirely free. Even to 
this day I shudder at the thought, when I think how 
Eobinson used to fly at me, swearing, foaming, and 
seeming to think there was no weapon too large or 
too heavy to strike me with. 

He and I were at one time logging with a yoke of 
oxen, which it was my business to drive. At that 
time rattle-snakes were numerous, and a great terror 
to the inhabitants. To be bitten by one of these 
poisonous reptiles was certain and almost instant 
death ; hence, the greatest caution and constant vigi- 
lance was necessary to avoid them while at work. I 
had been sent with the oxen to draw a log to the pile, 
and when I came up to it, I observed that it appeared 
to be hollow ; but stepping forward, with the chain in 
my hand, ready to attach it to the log, when, oh, hor- 
ror I the warning rattle of a snake sounded like a 
death -knell in my ears, proceeding from the log I was 
about to lay hold of I was so much frightened by 
the sound, that I dropped the chain as though it were 
red hot, left my team, and ran with all the speed in 



04 niREt) OUT TO A NEW MASTER. 

my power, screaming "murder, murder !" as loud as I 
could. 

This proceeding, wliich was the fearful impulse of 
the moment, offended Robinson, and gave him another 
opportunity to. beat me most cruelly. He was him- 
self as much afraid of rattle-snakes as I ; but he 
was the master and I the " slave boy," which made a 
vast difference. He caught hold of me, and, with 
horrid oaths, beat me with his fist again and again ; 
threatening me with awful punishment if I did not 
instantly return and bring the log to the desired spot. 
I never can forget the mortal agony I was in, while 
compelled by his kicks and blows to return and fasten 
the chain around the log containing the deadly ser- 
pent. I, however, succeeded with trembling hands, 
and drove the oxen, but keeping myself at the far 
thorest possible distance from them and the log 
When I finally arrived at the pile, Mr. Robinson and 
some other men, cut a hole with an ax in the log, and 
killed the large, venomous rattle-snake that had occa- 
sioned me so much alarm and such a cruel beating. 
Nor was the uncontrolable and brutal passion of Ro- 
binson his only deficiency ; he was mean as he was 
brutal. 

He had, at one time, borrowed a wagon of a neigh- 
bor living two miles distant, through a dense forest. 
■ On the day of the total eclipse of the sun, it entered 
his head that it would be fine sport, knowing 



MY NEW MASTEK, A HEARTLESS MAN. 95 

my ignorance and superstition, to send me, just as 
the darkness was coming on, to return the borrowed 
wagon. I accordingly liitched the ox-team to it and 
started. As I proceeded through the wood, I saw, 
with astonishment and some alarm, that it was grow- 
ing very dark, and thought it singular at that hour of 
the day. When I reached the place of my destination 
it was almost total darkness, and some persons, igno- 
rant as myself, were running about, wringing their 
hands, and declaring that they believed the Day of 
Judgment had come, and such like expressions. 

The effect of all this was, however, very different 
fi'om what my master had expected. I thought, 
of course, if the judgment day had come, I should 
be no longer a slave in the power of a heartless 
tyrant. I recollect well of thinking, that if indeed all 
things earthly were coming to an end, I should be 
free from Robinson's brutal force, and as to meeting 
my Creator, I felt far less dread of that than of meet- 
ing my cross, unmerciful master. I felt that, sinful as 
I had been, and unworthy as I was, I should be far 
better off than I then was ; driven to labor all day, 
without compensation ; half starved and poorly clad, 
and above all, subjected to the whims and caprices of 
any heartless tyrant to whom my master might give 
the power to rule over me. But I had not much time 
for reflection, I hurried home ; my mind filled with 
the calm anticipation that the end of all things was at 



96 HIRED OUT TO A NEW MASTER. 

hand ; wliicli greatly disappointed my expectant mas- 
ter, who was looking for me to return in a great fright, 
making some very ludicrous demonstration of fear and 
alarm. But after a few months more of hardship I 
was permitted to return to Capt. Helm's, where I was 
treated much better than at Eobinson's, and much 
better than the Captain used to treat his slaves. 

Capt. Helm, not having demand for slave labor as 
much as formerly, was in the practice of hiring out 
his slaves to different persons, both in and out of the 
village ; and among others, my only sister was hired 
out to a 'professed gentleman living in Bath. She had 
become the mother of two or three children, and was 
considered a good servant. 

One pleasant Sabbath morning, as I was passing the 
house where she lived, on my way to the Presbyterian 
church, where I was sent to ring the bell as usual, 1 
heard the most piteous cries and earnest pleadings 
issuing from the dwelling. To my horror and the 
astonishment of those with me, my poor sister made her 
appearance, weeping bitterly, and followed by her 
inhuman master, who was polluting the air of that 
clear Sabbath morning, with the most horrid impreca- 
tions and threatenings, and at the same time flourish- 
ing a large raw-hide. Yery soon his bottled wrath 
burst forth, and the blows, aimed with all his strength, 
descended upon the unprotected head, shoulders and 
back of the helpless woman, until she was literally cut 



MT SISTER INHUMANLY FLOGGED. 97 

to pieces. She writlied in his powerful grasp, while 
shriek after shriek died away in heart-rending moan- 
ings ; and jet the inhuman demon continued to beat 
her, though her pleading cries had ceased, until 
obliged to desist from the exhaustion of his own 
strength. 

What a spectacle was that, for the sight of a bro- 
ther ? The God of heaven only knows the conflict of 
feeling I then endured ; He alone witnessed the tumult 
of my heart, at this outrage of manhood and kindred 
affection, God knows that my will was good enough 
to have wrung his neck; or to have drained from 
his heartless system its last drop of blood ! And yet I 
was obliged to turn a deaf ear to her cries for assist- 
ance, which to this day ring in my cars. Strong and 
athletic as" I was, no hand of mine could be raised in 
her defence, but at the peril of both our lives ; — nor 
could her husband, had he been a witness of the scene, 
be allowed any thing more than unresisting submis- 
sion to any cruelty, any indignity which the master 
saw fit to inflict on his wife^ but the other's slave. 

Does any indignant reader feel that I was wanting 
in courage or brotherly affection, and say that he 
would have interfered, and, at all hazards, rescued his 
sister from the power of her master ; let him remem- 
ber that he is a freeman; that he has not from his 
infancy been taught to cower beneath the white man's 
frown, and bow at his bidding, or suffer all the rigor 
E 
.. 



98- HIRED OUT TO A NEW MASTER. 

of the slave laws. Had the gentlemanly woman- 
whipper been seen beating his horse, or his ox, in the 
manner he beat my poor sister, and that too for no 
fault whicli the law could recognize as an offence, he 
would have been complained of most likely ; but as it 
was, she was but a "slave girl," — with whom the 
slave law allowed her master to do what he pleased. 

Well, I finally passed on, with a clinched fist and 
contracted brow, to the church, and rung the bell, 
I think rather furiously, to notify the inhabitants of 
Bath, that it was time to assemble for the worship of 
that God who has declared himself to be " no respec- 
ter of persons." With my own heart beating wildly 
with indignation and sorrow, the kind reader may 
imagine my feelings when I saw the smooth-faced 
hypocrite, the inhuman slave- whipper, enter the church, 
pass quietly on to his accustomed seat, and then 
meekly bow his hypocritical face on the damask 
cushion, in the reverent acknowledgment of that reli- 
gion which teaches its adherents "to do unto others 
as they would be done by," just as if nothing 
unusual had happened on that Sabbath morning. 
Can any one wonder that I, and other slaves, often 
doubted the sincerity of every white man's religion ? 
Can it be a matter of astonishment, that slaves often 
feel that there is no just God for the poor African? 
Nay, verily ; and were it not for the comforting and 
sustaining influence that these poor, illiterate and suf- 



CAPT. HELM SELLS AUNT BETSEY. 99 

fering creatures feel as coming from an unearthly 
source, they would in their ignorance all become infi- 
dels. To me, that beautiful Sabbath morning was 
clouded in midnight darkness, and I retired to ponder 
on what could be done. 

For some reason or other, Capt. Helm had supplied 
every lawyer in that section of country with slaves, 
either by purchase or hire ; so when I thought of seek- 
ing legal redress for my poor, mangled sister, I saw a1 
once it would be all in vain. The laws were in favoi 
of the slave owner, and besides, every legal gentleman 
in the village had one or more of the Captain's slaves, 
who were treated with more or less rigor ; and of course 
they would do nothing toward censuring one of their 
own number, so nothing could be done to give the 
slave even the few privileges which the laws of the 
State allowed them. 

The Captain sold my aunt Betsy Bristol to a distin 
guished lawyer in the village, retaining her husband, 
Aaron Bristol, in his own employ; and two of her 
children he sold to another legal gentleman named 
Cruger. One day Captain Helm came out where 
the slaves were at work, and finding Aaron was not 
there, he fell into a great rage and swore terribly. He 
finally started off to a beach tree, from which he cut 
a stout limb, and trimmed it so as to leave a knot on 
the but end of the stick, or bludgeon rather, which 
W^as about two and a half feet in length. With this 



iOU HIRED OUT TO A NEW MASTER. 

formidable weapon lie started for Aaron's lonely cabin. 
When tlie solitary husband saw him coming he sus- 
pected that he was angry, and went forth to meet him 
in the street. They had no sooner met than my mas- 
ter seized Aaron by the collar, and taking the limb he 
had prepared by the smaller end, commenced beating 
him with it, over the head and face, and struck him 
some thirty or more terrible blows in quick succession ; 
after which Aaron begged to know for what he was 
80 unmercifully flogged. 

"Because you deserve it," was the angry reply. 
Aaron said that he had ever endeavored to discharge 
his duty, and had done so to the best of his ability ; 
and that he thought it very hard to be treated in that 
manner for no offence at all. Capt. Helm was aston- 
ished at his audacity ; but the reader will perceive 
that the slaves were not blind to the political condition 
of the country, and were beginning to feel that they 
had some rights, and meant to claim them. 

Poor Aaron's face and head, however, was left in a 
pitiable condition after such a«pummelling with a 
knotty stick. His face, covered with blood, was so 
swollen that he could hardly see for some time ; but 
what of that ? Did he not belong to Capt. Helm, soul 
and body ; and if his brutal owner chose to destroy his 
own property, certainly had he not a right to do so, 
without let or hindrance? Of course; such is the 
power that Slavery gives one human being over 
another. 



SLAVES PEOUD OF THEIR MASTERS WEALTH. 101 

And jet it must be confessed that among the poor, 
degraded and ignorant slaves there exists a foolish 
pride, which loves to boast of their master's wealth 
and influence. A white person, too poor to own 
slaves, is as often looked upon with as much disdain 
by the miserable slave as by his wealthy owner. 
This disposition seems to be instilled into the mind of 
every slave at the South, and indeed^ I have heard 
slaves object to being sent in very small companies to 
labor in the field, lest that some passer-by should 
think that they belonged to a poor man, who was 
unable to keep a large gang. Nor is this ridiculous 
sentiment maintained by the slaves only ; the rich 
planter feels such a contempt for all white persons 
without slaves, that he does not want them for his 
neighbors. I know of many instances where such 
persons have been under the necessity of buying or 
hiring slaves, just to preserve their reputation and 
keep up appearances ; and even among a class of peo- 
ple who profess to be opposed to Slavery, have I 
known instances of the same kind, and have heard 
them apologize for their conduct by saying that 
" when in Eome, we must do as the Romans do." 

Uncle Aaron Bristol was one of Capt. Helm's slaves 
who had a large amount of this miserable pride ; and 
for him to be associated with a white man in the same 
humble occupation, seemed to give him ideas of great 
superiority, and full liberty to treat him with all the 



102 HIRED OUT TO A KEW MASTER. 

scorn and sarcasm lie was capable of, in wliicli my 
uncle was by no means deficient. 

At this time tlie Captain owned a fine and valuable 
horse, by the name of Speculator. This horse, 
groomed by uncle Aaron, stood sometimes at Bath 
and sometimes at Geneva; and at the latter village 
another horse was kept, groomed by a white man. 
The white groom was not very well pleased with 
Aaron's continual disparagement of the clumsy animal 
which my uncle called "a great, awkward plow- 
horse;" and then he would fling out some of his 
proud nonsense about ^^ poor ivJiite people who were 
obhged to groom their own old dumpy horses," &c. 

Well, things went on in this unpleasant manner for 
several weeks, when at last the white groom and 
Aaron met at Geneva, and the horse belonging to the 
former, designedly or accidentally, escaped from his 
keeper, and came with full speed, with his mouth 
wide open, after Speculator. When the fiery fellow 
had overtaken uncle Aaron he attempted to grasp the 
wethers of Speculator with his teeth, instead of which 
he caught Aaron on the inside of his thigh, near the 
groin, from whence he bit a large piece of flesh, laying 
the bone entirely bare ; at the same moment flinging 
Aaron to the ground, some rods off; and the next 
instant he kicked Speculator down a steep embank- 
ment. Aaron was taken up for dead, and Dr. Henry 
sent for, who dressed his wounds : and after several 



UNCLE AARON TAKES "FRENCH LEAVE.'* 108 

months' confinement lie finally recovered. It is pro- 
bable that the biting and overthrow of Aaron saved 
his life, as he must have otherwise been killed in the 
encounter of the two horses. 

A while after his recovery, uncle Aaron succeeded 
in procuring a team and some kind of vehicle, in 
which he put his wife and children, and between two 
days, took " French leave" of his master as well as of 
the lawyer to whom his wife belonged. 

The lawyer, however, was far from being pleased 
when he missed his property, and immediately set his 
wits to work to reclaim her. All was kept secret as 
possible, but it was whispered about that it was to be 
done by a State's warrant, for removing the clothing 
and furniture they had taken, and so, being thus 
arrested, '' Madam Bristol" would be glad to return to 
her work in the lawyer's kitchen. But Aaron was a 
smart, shrewd man, and kept out of their reach, where 
he soon found friends and employment, and could go 
where he pleased, without having an infuriated master 
to beat and disfigure him with a knotted stick, until 
his clothes were bespattered with blood. They appre- 
ciated their liberty, and lived and died in peace and 
freedom. 

Capt. Helm continued his old manner of treating 
slaves, dealing out their weekly allowance of corn or 
meal ; but living as we now did, so "much more inti- 
mately with white inhabitants, our condition was mate- 



104 iriRKD OUT TO A NEW MASTER. 

rially improved. The slaves became more refined in 
manners and in possession of far greater opportunities 
to provide for themselves, than they had ever before 
enjoyed, and yet it was Slavery. Any reverse in the 
fortunes of our master would be disadvantageous to 
us. Oh, how this fearful uncertainty weighed upon 
us as we saw that our master was not prospering and 
increasing in wealth ; but we had not the dismal fears 
of the loathsome slave-pen, rice swamps, and many 
other things we should have to fear in Virginia. "We 
were still slaves^ and yet we had so much greater chanco 
to learn from the kind, intelligent people about us, so 
many things which we never knew before, that I 
think a slave-trader would have found it a difficult 
task to take any one of us to a Southern slave market, 
if our master had so ordered it. 

The village of Bath is rather an out-of-the-way 
place, hemmed in on all sides by mountains of consid- 
erable height, leaving an opening on the north, 
through a pleasant valley, to the head of Crooked 
Lake. Produce of every kinjj, when once there, met 
a ready sale for the New York market. 

In the first settlement of the country this was the 
only outlet for the country produce, which was trans- 
ported in rude boats or vessels called arhs^ built dur- 
ing the winter season to await the spring freshet ; then 
tliey loaded them with wheat or other produce, and 
sent them to Baltimore or elsewhere. They used al^ 



AN ATTEMPT TO STAB ME. 105 

to obtain great quantities of fine lumber, and floated 
it through the same rivers every spring ; but it was 
attended with great loss of life and property. 

Bath assumed a warlike appearance during the last 
war with Great Britain; the public square was dotted 
all over with officers, marquees, and soldiers' tents. 
Some of these soldiers were unprincipled and reckless 
men, who seemed to care very little what they did. 

One evening I was walking around the encampment 
in company with a Mr. James Morrison, a clerk in 
the land office, looking at the soldiers, until we came 
near a sentinel on duty. He kept his gun to his 
shoulder until we came near enough, and then he 
attempted to run me through with his bayonet. 
Young Morrison sprang forward, and seizing the mus- 
ket, told me to run ; I did so, which probably savea 
my life. 



E^ 



CHAPTEE XI 



THOUGHTS ON FREEDOM. 

AFTER living sometime in Bath, and having the 
privilege of more enlightened society, I began 
to think that it was possible for me to become a free 
man in some way besides going into the army or 
running away, as I had often thought of doing. 
I had listened to the conversation of others, and 
determined to ask legal counsel on the subject the 
first opportunity I could find. Yery soon after, as I 
was drawing wood, I met on the river bridge, Mr. D. 
Cruger, the eminent lawyer before mentioned, and I 
asked him to tell me if I was not free, by the laws of 
New York. He started, and looked around him as if 
afraid to answer my question, but after a while told 
me I was not free. I passed on, but the answer to my 
q^uestion by no means satisfied me, especially when I 
remembered the hesitancy with which it was given. 
I sought another opportunity to speak with Mr. 



ADVISED BY THE MAJSTUMISSION SOCIETY. 107 

Cruger, and at last found Mm in liis office alone ; then 
he conversed freely on the subject of Slavery, telling 
me that Capt. Helm could not hold me as a slave in 
that State, if I chose to leave him, and then directed 
me to D. Comstock and J. Moore ; the first being at 
the head of a manumission society, and the last named 
gentleman one of its directors. 

Our condition, as I have said before, was greatly 
improved ; and yet the more we knew of freedom the 
more we desired it, and the less willing were we to 
remain in bondage. The slaves that Capt. Helm had 
sold or hired out, were continually leaving him and the 
country, for a place of freedom ; and I determined to 
become my own possessor. 

There is no one, I care not how favorable his con- 
dition, who desires to be a slave, to labor for nothing 
all his life for the benefit of others. I have often 
heard fugitive slaves say, that it was not so much the 
cruel beatings and floggings that they received which 
induced them to leave the South, as the idea of drag- 
ging out a whole life of unrequited toil to enrich their 
masters. 

Everywhere that Slavery exists, it is nothing but 
slavery. I found it just as hard to be beaten over the 
head with a piece of iron in New York as it was in Yir- 
ginia. Whips and chains are everywhere necessary to 
degrade and brutalize the slave, in order to reduce 
him to that abject and humble state which Slavery 



108 THOUGHTS ON FREEDOM. 

requires. Nor is tlie effect mucb. less disastroas on the 
man who holds supreme control over the soul and 
body of his fellow beings. Such unlimited power, 
in almost every instance transforms the man into a 
tyrant ; the brother into a demon. 

When the first of our persecuted race were brought 
to this country it was to teach them to reverence thu 
only true and living God ; or such was the answer of 
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England, when her 
subjects desired the liberty to bring from their native 
land the poor, ignorant African. ''Let them," said the 
Queen, "be brought away only by their own consent, 
otherwise the act will be detestable, and bring down 
the vengeance of heaven upon us." A very different 
position truly, from the one assumed at the present 
day by apologists for the traf&c in human flesh. But, 
to return to myself 

I had determined to make an effort to own myself, 
and as a preliminary step, I obtained permission of 
Capt. Helm to visit some friends living in Canandaigua 
and Geneva. This was in the winter of 1814. I 
went first to Geneva; from there to Canandaigua. 
Between the two villages I met a company of United 
States' troops, returning from Buffalo, where they had 
been to repel an invasion of the British. 

The two villages above named, were small but very 
pretty, having been laid out with taste and great care. 
Some wealthy and enterprising gentlemen had come 



TOLD THE STOKY OF ITY WRONGS. 109 

from the East into this great Western country, wlio 
were making every improvement in their power. The 
dense forest had long since fallen under the stroke of 
the woodman's ax, and in that section, flourishing 
villages were springing up as if by magic, where so 
lately roamed wild beasts and rude savages, both 
having fallen back before the march of civihzation. 

I called on James Moore, as directed by Mr. Cruger, 
and found he was one of the directors of the "Manu- 
mission Society," as it was then called. This was an 
association of humane and intelligent gentlemen 
whose object it was to aid any one who was illegally 
held in bondage. The funds of the society were 
ample ; and able counsel was employed to assist those 
who needed it. The late lamented John C. Spencer, 
one of the most eminent lawyers in "Western New 
York, was then counsel for that society. 

I soon got an interview with Mr. Moore, to whom I 
rulated the history of my life, — the story of my 
wrongs and hardships. I told him about my having 
been hired out by Capt. Helm, which he said was 
sufficient to insure my freedom ! Oh ! how my heart 
leaped at the thought ! The tears started, my breast 
heaved with a mighty throb of gratitude, and I could 
hardly refrain from grasping his hand or falling down 
at his feet; and perhaps should have made some 
ludicrous demonstration of my feelings, had not the 
kind gentleman continued his conversation in another 
direction. 



110 THOUGHTS ON FREEDOM. 

He said that indispensable business called Lim to 
Albany, where he must go immediately, but assured 
me that he would return in March following ; then I 
must come to him and he would see that I had what 
justly belonged to me — my freedom from Slavery. 
He advised me to return to Bath and go on with my 
work as usual until March, but to say nothing of my 
intentions and prospects. I returned according to his 
directions, with a heart so light, that I could not 
realize that my bonds were not yet broken, nor the 
yoke removed from off my neck. I was already free 
in spirit, and I silently exulted in the bright prospect 
of liberty. 

Could my master have felt what it was to be relieved 
of such a crushing weight, as the one- which was but 
partially lifted from my mind, he would have been a 
happier man than he had been for a long time. 

I went cheerfully back to my labor, and worked 
with alacrity, impatient only for March to come; and 
as the time drew near I began to consider what kind 
of an excuse I could make to get away. I could 
think of none, but I determined to go without one, 
rather than to remain. 

Just before the time appointed for me to meet 
Mr. Moore, a slave girl named Milly, came secretly to 
Bath. She had been one of Capt. Helm's slaves, and 
he had a while before sold her to a man who lived 
some distance west of the village. Milly had now 



SLAVE GIRL MILLY RUNS AWAY. Ill 

taken* the matter into her own hands. She had left 
her master to take care of himself, and was in short, 
"running away," determined as myself, that she 
would be a slave no longer; resolved on death, or 
freedom from the power of the slaveholder. 

The time I had set for my departure was so near at 
hand, that I concluded to accompany her in her flight. 
When the dark night came on, we started together, 
and traveled all night, and just as the day dawned 
we arrived at Manchester, where we stopped a short 
time with one Thomas Watkins. 

But I was not to be let go so easily. I had been 
missed at Capt, Helm's, and several men started in 
immediate pursuit. I was weary, and so intent on 
getting a little rest that I did not see my pursuers 
until they had well nigh reached the house where I 
was ; but I did see them in time to spring from the 
house with the agility of a deer, and to run for the 
woods as for life. And indeed, I so considered it. I 
was unarmed to be sure, and not prepared to defend 
myself against two or three men, armed to the teeth ; 
but it would have gone hard with me before I surren- 
dered myself to them, after having dreamed as I 
had, and anticipated the blessings of a free man. I 
escaped them, thank God, and reached the woods, 
where I concealed myself for some time, and where I 
had ample opportunity to reflect on the injustice and 
cruelty of my oppressors, and to ask myself why it 



112 THOUGHTS ON FREEDOM. 

was tliat I was obliged to fly from my home. Wliy 
was I there panting and weary, hungry and destitute — 
skulking in the woods like a thief, and concealing 
myself like a murderer? What had I done? For 
what fault, or for what crime was I pursued by armed 
men, and hunted like a beast of prey? God only 
knows how these inquiries harrowed up my veiy soul, 
and made me well nigh doubt the justice and mercy 
of the Almighty, until I remembered my narrow 
escape, when my doubts dissolved in grateful tears. 

But why, oh why, had I been forced to flee thus 
from my fellow men? I was guilty of no crime; I 
had committed no violence ; I had broken no law of 
the land ; I was not charged even with a fault, except 
of the love of liberty and a desire to be free ! I had 
claimed the right to possess my own person, and 
remove it from oppression. Oh my Grod, thought I, 
can the American People, who at this very hour are 
pouring out their blood in defence of their country's 
liberty; offering up as a sacrifice on the battle field 
their promising young men, to preserve their land and 
hearthstones from English oppression ; can they, 
will they, continue to hunt the poor African slave 
from their soil because he desires that same liberty, so 
dear to the heart of every American citizen ?\ Will 
they not blot out from their fair escutcheon the foul 
stain wliich Slavery has cast upon it ? Will they not 
remember the Southern bondman, in whom the love 



MADE MY ESCAPE, BUT WAS PURSUED. 113 

of freedom is as inherent as in themselves ; and will 
they not, when contending for equal rights, use their 
mighty forces *'to break every yohe^ and let the 
oppressed go free ? " God grant that it may be so ! 

As soon as I liionght it prudent, I pursued my 
journey, and finally came out into the open country, 
near the dwelling of Mr. Dennis Comstock, who, as I 
have said, was president of the Manumission Society. 
To him I freely described my situation, and found 
him a friend indeed. He expressed his readiness to 
assist me, and wrote a line for me to take to his 
brother, Otis Comstock, who took me into hi§ family 
at once. I hired to Mr. Comstock for the season, and 
from that time onward lived with him nearly four 
years. 

Wlien I arrived there I was about twenty -two years 
of age, and felt for the first time in my life, that I was 
my own master. I cannot describe to a free man, what 
a proud manly feeling came over me when I hired 
to Mr. C. and made my first bargain, nor when I 
afigumed the dignity of collecting my own earnings. 
ISTotwithstanding I was very happy in my freedom 
from Slavery, and had a good home, where for the 
first time in my life I was allowed to sit at table with 
others, yet I found myself very deficient in almost 
every thing which I should have learned when a boy. 

These and other recollections of the past often sad- 
dened my spirit ; but hope^ — cheering and bright, was 



114 THOUGHTS ON" FREEDOM. 

now mine, and it lighted up tlie future and gave me 
patience to persevere. 

In tlie autumn when the farm work was done, I 
called on Mr. Comstock for some money, and the first 
thing I did after receiving it I went to Canandaigua 
where I found a book-store kept by a man named 
J. D. Bemis, and of him I purchased some school 
books. 

No king on his throne could feel prouder or grander 
than I did that day. With my books unde^- my arm, 
and money of my own earning in my pocket, I stepped 
loftily ^ong toward Farmington, where I determined 
to attend the Academy. The thought, however, that 
though I was twenty-three years old, I had yet to 
learn what most boys of eight years knew, was rather 
a damper on my spirits. The school was conducted 
by Mr. J. Comstock, who was a pleasant young man 
and an excellent teacher. He showed me every kind- 
ness and consideration my position and ignorance 
demanded; and I attended his school three winters, 
with pleasure and profit to myself at least. 

When I had been with Mr. Comstock about a year, 
we received a visit from my old master, Capt. Helm, 
who had spared no pains to find me, and when he 
learned where I was he came to claim me as ''his 
boy," who, he said he " wanted and must have." 

Mr. Comstock told him I was not "his boy," and as 
such he would not give me up ; and further, that I waa 



CAPT. H. SURBENDEBS ALL CLAIM TO ME. llo 

free b j the laws of the State. He assured the Captain 
that his hiring me out in the first instance, to Mr. 
Tower, forfeited his claim to me, and gave me a right 
to freedem, — ^but if he chose to join issiie, thej would 
have the case tried in the Supreme Court ; but this 
proposition the Captain declined: he knew well 
enough that it would result in my favor ; and aftei 
some flattery and coaxing, he left me with my friend, 
Mr. Comstock, in liberty and peace I 



• CHAPTER XII. 



CAPT. HELM — ^DIVORCE — KIDNAPPING. 

THE business affairs of Capt. Helm had for some 
time been far from prosperous ; and now lie was 
quite poor. His slave property proved a bad invest- 
ment, and Madam Thornton a far worse one. She 
had already applied for a divorce, and a good share of 
the estate as alimony ; both of which she succeeded in 
getting, the Captain allowing her to take pretty much 
her own course. These troubles, with costs of law- 
suits, bad management, &;c., had now emptied the 
coffers of my old master almost to the last farthing ; 
and he began to cast about him for some way to 
replenish his purse, and retrieve his fallen fortunes. 

Had Capt. Helm been brought up to honorable 
industry, and accustomed to look after his own pecun- 
iary interests, he doubtless would have sustained his 
position ; or if reverses were unadvoidable, he would 
have by persevering industry, regained what he had 



CAPT. HELM BECOMES A KIDNAPPER. 117 

lost. But lie had been raised in a slave State, and 
Southern principles were as deeply instilled into his 
mind, as Southern manners were impressed on his life 
and conduct. 

He had no partiality for labor of any kind ; horse- 
racing and card-plajdng were far more congenial to his 
tastes ; reduced as he now was, he would deny himself 
no luxury that his means or credit would procure. 
His few remaining slaves were given into the hands 
of an idle, brutal overseer — while they, half fed, half 
clothed, grew more and more discontented, and ran 
away on every opportunity that offered. 

The Captain at last hit upon a method of making 
money, which, if it had been carried into operation on 
the high seas, would in all probabiHty have been 
called by its right name, and incurred the penalty of 
the gallows — as piracy. Ought it then to be deemed 
less criminal because transpiring on the free soil of the 
American Eepublic ? I think not. Nor was it less 
censurable on account of its failure. 

The Captain's plan was to collect all the slaves 
he had once owned, many of whom had escaped 
to the surrounding villages, and when once in his 
grasp, to run them speedily into a slave State, and 
there sell them for the Southern market. To carry- 
forward this hellish design, it was necessary to have 
recourse to stratagem. Some person must be found to 
lure the unsuspecting slaves into the net he was 



118 CAPT. nELM — DIVORCE — KIDNAPPING. 

spreading for them. At last he found a scoundrel 
named Simon Watkins, who for the consideration of 
fifty dollars, was to collect as many of the slaves as he 
could at one place ; and when he had done so, he was 
to receive the money, leaving Capt. Helm to do the 
rest. 

Simon set immediately about the business, which 
was first to go to Palmyra, and in great kindness and 
generosity, give a large party to the colored people, — , 
desiring that all Capt. Helm's former slaves, in par- 
ticular^ should be present to have a joyous re-union, 
and celebrate their freedom in having a fine time 
generally. 

Invitations were sent to all, and extensive prepar- 
ation made for a large "social party," at Palmyra, at 
the house of Mrs. Bristol. My parents were invited : 
and Simon took the pains to come to Farmington to 
give me a special in\atation. When the time arrived 
for the party, I went to Palmyra with the intention 
of attending. I had not the least suspicion of any 
thing wrong ; yet, by some mysterious providence, or 
something for which I can not account, a presentiment 
took possession of my mind that all was not right. I 
knew not what I feared, and could in no way define 
my apprehensions ; but I grew so uneasy, that T 
finally gave up the party and returned home, befoie 
the guests were assembled. 

Capt, Helm and his assistants came on to Palmjra 



FIGHT BETWEEN SLATES AST) TCTDXAPPEES. 119 

in disguise, before evening, and secreted themselves in 
one of the hotels to await the arrival of their \dctims. 

At the appointed hour the slaves began to assemble 
in large numbers and great glee, without the least 
suspicion of danger. They soon began their amuse- 
ments, and in the midst of their mirth, Capt. Helm 
and party stealthily crept from their hiding place and 
surrounded the house ; then bursting in suddenly upon 
the revelers, began to make arrests. Such a tumult, 
such an affray as ensued would be hard to describe. 

The slaves fought for their lives and their liberty, 
and the Captain's party for their property and power. 
Fists, clubs, chairs, and any thing they could get hold 
of, was freely used with a strength and will of men 
who had tasted the joys of freedom. Cries and curses 
were mingled, while blows fell like hail on both sides. 
Commands from our old master were met with shouts 
of bold defiance on the part of the negroes, until 
the miserable kidnappers were glad to desist, and 
were driven off — not stealthily as they came, but in 
quick time and in the best way they could, to escape 
the threatened vengeance of the slaves, who drove 
them like "feathers before the wind." But it was 
a terrible battle and many were severely wounded ; 
among them was my father. He was token to his 
home, mangled and bleeding, and from the effects of 
that night's affray he never recovered. He lingered 
on in feeble health until death finally released hiro 



120 CAPT. HELM — DIVORCE — KIDN^APPING 

from suffering, and placed him beyond the reach of 
kidnappers and tjTants. 

The Captain and his party, enraged and disap- 
pointed in their plans at Palmyra, returned to Bath to 
see what could be done there toward success, in getting 
up a gang of slaves for the Southern market. When 
they came among the colored people of Bath, it was 
like a hawk alighting among a flock of chickens at 
noon-day. They scattered and ran in every direction, 
some to the woods, some hid themselves in cellars, 
and others in their terror plunged into the Conhocton 
River. In this manner the majority of the negroes 
escaped, but not all ; and those were so unfortunate as 
to get caught were instantly thrown into a large 
covered ^'Pennsylvania wagon," and hurried off, 
closely guarded, to Olean Point. Among those taken 
were Harry Lucas, his wife, Lucinda, and seven 
children; Mrs. Jane Cooper and four children, with 
some others, were also taken. 

When Capt. Helm arrived at Olean Point with his 
stolen freight of human beings, he was unexpectedly 
detained until he could build a boat, — which, to his 
great dismay took him several days. 

The sorrow and fearful apprehension of those 
wretched recaptured slaves can not be described nor 
imagined by any one except those who have experi- 
enced a like affliction. They had basked for a short 
season in the sunshine of liberty, and thought them- 



RECAPTUKED SLAVES RESIST. 121 

selves secure from tbe iron grasp of Slavery, and the 
heel of the oppressor, when in the height of their 
exultation, they had been thrust down to the lowest 
depths of misery and despair, with the oppressor's 
heel again upon their necks. To be snatched without 
a moment's warning from their homes and friends, — 
hurried and crowded into the close slave wagon, 
regardless of age or sex, like sheep for the slaughter, 
to be carried they knew not whither ; but, doubtless 
to the dismal rice swamp of the South, — was to them 
an agony too great for endurance. The adult portion 
of the miserable company determined at last to go no 
farther with their heartless master, but to resist unto 
death if need be, before they surrendered themselves 
to the galling chains they had so recently broken, or 
writhed again under the torturing lash of the slave- 
driver. 

Harry Lucas and wife, and Jane Cooper, silently 
prepared themselves for the conflict, determined to sell 
their lives as dearly as possible. "When they were 
nearly ready to start, Jane Cooper sent her oldest 
daughter and younger sister, (she who is now our 
worthy friend Mrs. P. of Bath), into the woods, and 
then when the men undertook to get Lucas and the 
two women on board the boat the struggle commenced. 
The women fought the Captain and his confederates 
like a lioness robbed of her whelps ! They ran and 
dodged about, making the woods ring with their 
F 



122 CAFT. HELM — ^DIVORCE — KIDNAPPING. 

screams and shouts of " Murder I Murder 1 Help ! 
Help I Murder I " until the Captain's party, seeing 
they could do nothing to quell them, became so 
exceedingly alarmed lest they should be detected in 
their illegal proceedings, that they ran off at full- 
speed, as if they thought an officer at their heels. 
In their hurry and fright they caught two of Harry's 
children, and throwing them into the boat, pushed off 
as quick as possible, amid the redoubled cries of the 
agonized parents and sympathizing friends, all trying 
in every way possible, to recover from the merciless 
grasp of the man-stealer, the two frightened and 
screaming children. Guns were fired and horns 
sounded, but all to no purpose — ^they held tightly the 
innocent victims of their cupidity, and made good 
their escape. 

Mr. B. C , a gentleman of wealth and high 

standing in Steuben County, became responsible for 
the fifty dollars which Capt. Helm promised to pay 
Simon Watkins for his villany in betrajring, Judas-like, 
those unsuspecting persons whom it should have been 
his pleasure to protect and defend against their com- 
mon oppressor, — ^his own as well as theirs. 

In addition to this rascality, it can not appear very- 
creditable to the citizens of Steuben County, that 
Capt. Helm and Thomas McBimey should both hold 
high and important offices at the time, and after 
they had been tried and convicted of the crime of 



CAPT. HELM CONVICTED OF KIDNAPPING. 123 

kidnapping. Both of these gentlemen, gnilty of a 
State's prison offence, were judges of the common 
pleas. T. McBimey was first judge in the county, 
and Capt. Helm was side judge; and notwithstanding 
their participation in, and conviction of, a flagrant 
outrage on the laws of God and man, they managed 
not only to escape the penalty, but to retain their 
offices and their respectable standing in community 
for years after. 



CHAPTEE XIII 



LOCATE IN THE VILLAGE OF EOCHESTER. 

I CONTINUED to labor in the employ of Mr. 0. 
Comstock, whose son, Zeno, was married during 
the year 1816, and purchased a farm on the site of the 
present flourishing -village of Lockport, to which he 
moved his family and effects; but from a mistaken 
supposition that the Erie Canal, which was then imder 
contemplation, would take a more southern route, he 
was induced to sell his farm in Hartland, which has 
proved a mine of wealth to the more fortunate pur- 
chaser. 

In the winter of that year, I was sent by my em- 
ployer to Hartland with a sleigh-load of produce, and 
passed through the village of Kochester, which I had 
never before seen. It was a very small, forbidding 
looking place at first sight, -^jith few inhabitants, and 
surrounded by a dense forest. 

I recollect that while pursuing my journey, I over- 



DEATH OF FATHER IN PALMYRA. 125 

took a white mai^^iving a span of horses, who con- 
tended that I hacrnot a right to travel the public high- 
way as other men did, but that it was my place to keep 
behind him and liis team. Being in haste I endeavored 
to pass him quietly, but he would not permit it and 
hindered me several hours, very much to my annoy- 
ance and indignation. This was, however, but a slight 
incident indicating the bitter prejudice which every 
man seemed to feel against the negro. Ko matter how 
industrious he might be, no matter how honorable in 
his dealings, or respectful in his manners, — he was a 
"nigger," and as such he must be treated, with a 
few honorable exceptions. 

This year also, my father died in the village of Pal- 
myra, where, as I have before mentioned,. he received 
injuries from which he never entirely recovered. 
After about six months severe illness which he bore 
with commendable patience and resignation, his spirit 
returned to God who gave it; and his sorrowing 
friends and bereaved family followed his remains to 
their final abode, where we laid him down to rest 
from unrequited labor and dire oppression, until "all 
they who are in their graves shall hear the voice of 
the Son of God, and they that hear shall live forever," 
where the "tears shall be wiped from off all faces" — 
and where the righteous "bfbndman shall no longer fear 
the driver's lash or master's frown, but freely join in 
the song of "Alleluia I The Lord God Omnipotent 
reigneth ! " 



VZQ LOCATE IN THE VILLAGE OP KOCHESTER. 

My father had a good reputatj^ for honesty and 
uprightness of character among his employers and 
acquaintances, and was a kind, affectionate husband 
and a fond, indulgent parent. His, I believe was the 
life and death of a good man. "Peace be to his 
ashes." 

The following season I commenced a new business — • 
that of peddling in the village of Kochester such 
articles as my employer, Mr. Comstock, desired to sell : 
the products of his farm, — wheat, corn, oats, butter, 
cheese, meat, and poultry — all of which met a ready 
sale, generally for cash at liberal prices. That market 
was then but little known to the generality of farmers, 
and the enterprising gentlemen of that place, were 
desirous of encouraging commerce with the surround- 
ing country, offered every encouragement in their 
power. Hence, we found it a profitable business, 
which I continued in for several months. 

The present flourishing city of Kochester was then, 
/ as I have said, but a village in its infancy, situated 
near the upper falls of the Genesee Eiver, and about 
j seven miles from its mouth. Here, some time pre- 
^ viously, three gentlemen from Maryland bought a 
large tract of land, and as no business man could fail 
to observe and appreciate its rare advantages they 
commenced laying out a village. Sirs Fitzhugh, Car- 
roll, and Kochester, composed the company ; but the 
management of the business devolved almost wholly 



PEDDLE PRODUCE IN ROCHESTER. 127 

on Col. Rochester, wliose wealth, enterprise, and intel- 
ligence well qualified him. for the undertaking; and 
as it had been assigned him. to cognominate the new 
village, I have heard it said that he jocularly gave his 
reason for selecting its present title, as follows: 
"Should he call it Fiizliuyh or Carroll^ the slighted 
gentleman would certainly feel offended with the 
other; but if he called it by his own name, they would 
most likely hoth be angry with him ; so it wsfe best to 
serve them alike." 

There was then two grist mills, — one owned by Mr. 
Ely, and the other by Mr. Brown; one small building 
for religious worship, occupied by the Presbyterians 
on Carroll street (now State street) ; and but two stonej 
buildings within what now comprises that beautiful 
city. There were then no brick buildings at all, but 
business was good; merchants and mechanics from 
the East soon began to settle there and give it a thriv- 
ing aspect. 

About this time another company was formed, 
whose moving spirit was Mr. E. Stone, a man of 
worth and talent; the object of which was to locate 
another village at the head of navigation and about 
half way between the mouth of the river and Roches- 
ter, which they called Carthage. 

The company commenced building and improving 
the place so rapidly, that many who came to purchase 
residences and business stations were at a loss to de<jide 



128 LOCATE IN THE VILLAGE OF KOCHESTER. 



1 



•whicli of the two places would finally become tlie 
center of business. It, however, was soon perceivable 
that the advantage of water privileges, stone, and 
access to both, was greatly in favor of Rochester. At 
Carthage the Genesee is narrow and its banks steep 
and abrupt, rising in many places three hundred feet 
above the bed of the river, which of course render 
the privileges and business on it far less easy of 
access fqf building purposes. I may have occasion to 
speak hereafter of the expensive and magnificent 
bridge at Carthage, which was the wonder and admir- 
ation of the times. 

The following year I concluded to go into business 
for myself, and was as much at loss as others, 
whether to locate at Rochester or Carthage; but 
after considering the matter in all its bearings, and 
closely watching the progress of events, my choice 
preponderated in favor of Rochester, and to that place 
I went, designing to enter into business on my own 
account. 

It was indeed painful to my feelings to leave the 
home and family of Mr. Comstock, where I had 
experienced so much real comfort and happiness, 
where I had ever been treated with uniform kindness, 
where resided those kind friends to whom I felt under 
the greatest obligation for the freedom and quietude I 
then enjoyed, as well as for the little knowledge of 
business and of the world that I then possessed. 



MYSTERIOUS DEATH. 129 

Thinking, lio-T^ever, tliat I could better my condition, 
I subdued, as well as I could, my rising emotions, and 
after sincerely thanking them for their goodness and 
favors — wishing them long life and prosperity, — I took 
my departure for the chosen place of my destination. 

Soon after I left Mr. Comstock's, that gentleman 
sent his hired man, named John Cline, to Kochester 
with a wagon load of produce to sell, as had been his 
custom for some time. In vain the family looked for 
his return at the usual hour in the evening, and began 
to wonder what had detained him ; but what was their 
horror and surprise to find, when they arose the next 
morning, the horses standing at the door, and the poor 
unfortunate man lying in the wagon, dead! How 
long they had been there nobody knew ; no one had 
heard them come in; and how the man had been 
killed was a matter of mere conjecture. The coroner 
was sent for and an inquest held, and yet it was diffi- 
cult to solve the whole mystery. 

The most probable explanation was, that he was 
sitting in the back part of the wagon, and fell over on 
i^is left side, striking his neck on the edge of the 
wagon box, breaking it instantly. 

The verdict of the jury was, in accordance with 
these facts, " accidental death," &c. 

When I left Mr. Comstock's I had acquired quite a 
knowledp^e of reading, writing, arithmetic, and had 
made a small beginning in English grammar. 



130 LOCATE IN THE VILLAGE OF EOCHESTER. 

It had been for some time a question wliicli I found 
liard to decide, whether or not I should pursue my 
studies as I had done. If I went into business as I 
contemplated, I knew it would end my proficiency 
in the sciences; and yet I felt a desire to accumu- 
late more of the wealth that perisheth. Considering 
too that I was advancing in age, and had no means of 
support but by my own labor, I finally concluded 
to do what I have from that time to this deep- 
ly regretted, — give up the pursuit of an education, 
and turn my attention wholly to busiaess. I 
do not regret having desired a competency, nor for 
having labored to obtain it, but I do regret not having 
spared myself sufficient leisure to pursue some regular 
system of reading and study ; to have cultivated my 
mind and stored it with useful knowledge. 

Truly has it been said, ''knowledge is power." 
But it is not like the withering curse of a tyrant's 
power ; not like the degrading and brutalizing power 
of the slave-driver's lash, chains, and thumb-screws ; 
not like the beastly, demonical power of rum, nor like 
the brazen, shameless power of lust ; but a power that 
elevates and refines the intellect ; directs the affections : 
controls unholy passions ; a power so God-like in its 
character, that it enables its possessor to feel for the 
oppressed of every clime, and prepares him to defend 
the weak and down-trodden. 

What but ignorance renders the poor slave so weak 



ESTABLISH A MEAT MARKET. 131 

and inefficient in claiming his right to liberty, and the 
possession of his own being ! Nor will that G-od who 
is ''no respecter of persons," hold him guiltless who 
a!^sumes unlimited control over his fellow. The chain 
of Slavery which fetters every slave south of Mason 
and Bixon's Line, is as closely linked arounb the master 
as the slave. The time has passed by when African 
blood alone is enslaved. In Virginia as well as in 
some other slave States, there is as much European 
blood in the veins of the enslaved as there is African; 
and the increase is constantly in favor of the white 
population. This fact alone speaks volumes, and 
should remind the slave-breeding Southerner of that 
fearful retribution which must sooner or later over- 
take him. 

In September, 1817, I commenced business in 
Rochester. Having rented a room of Mr. A. Wakely, 
I established a meat market, which was supplied 
mostly by my former employer, Mr. Comstock, and 
was liberally patronized by the citizens; but there were 
butchers in the village who appeared to be unwilling 
that I should have any share in public patronage. 
Sometimes they tore down my sign, at others painted 
it black, and so continued to annoy me until after I 
had one of their number arrested, which put a stop to 
their unmanly proceedings. 

The village was now rapidly increasing, and yet the 
surrounding country was mostly a wilderness. Mr. 



132 LOCATE IN THE VILLAGE OF ROCHESTER. 

E. Stone, wlio tlien owned the land on the east side of 
the river, thought his farm a very poor one; he, 
however, commenced clearing it in the midst of wild 
beasts and rattlesnakes, both of which were abundant, 
and in a few years was richly rewarded for his labor, 
in the sale of callage lots, which commanded high 
prices. 

In the summer of 1818, I commenced teaching 
a Sabbath School for the neglected children of our 
oppressed race. For a while it was well attended, and 
I hoped to be able to benefit in some measure the poor 
and despised colored children, but the parents inter- 
ested themselves very Httle in the undertaking, and it 
shortly came to nought. So strong was the prejudice 
then existing against the colored people, that very few 
of the negroes seemed to have any courage or am- 
bition to rise from the abject degradation in which the 
estimation of the white man had placed him. 

This year, also, I purchased a lot of land, eighteen 
by fifty feet, situated on Main street, for which I was 
to pay five hundred dollars. Having secured my 
land, I began making preparations for building, and 
soon had a good two story dwelling and store, into 
which I moved my effects, and commenced a more 
extensive business. 

Some disadvantage as well as sport was occasioned 
On business men, who resided on the confines of On- 
tario and G-enesee Counties. It. was indeed laughable 



\ 



QUEER FREAKS OF POOR DEBTORS. 133 

to witness the races and manouvering of parties in 
those days when men were imprisoned for debt. K a 
man in Ontario County had a suspicion that an officer 
was on his track, he had only to step oyer the line into 
Grenesee, to be beyond the power of an officer's 
precept. 

A great deal of trouble as well as unpleasant feeling 
was engendered by the exercise of that law, which 
allowed the creditor so great adyantage oyer the 
debtor. This, together with the fact that yery many 
of the citizens of Eochester were men of small means, 
the more wealthy portion felt called upon to protect 
their interests, by forming themselyes into what was 
called a " Shylock Society," the object of which was 
to obtain a list of all the names of persons who had 
been, or were then, on ''the limits" for debt. This 
List of names was printed, and each member of the 
society furnished with a copy, which enabled him to 
decide whether or not to trust a man when he came to 
trade. The formation of this society gave rise to 
another, whose members pledged themselyes to haye 
no dealing with a member of the '* Shylock Society," 
and also to publish all defaulters in ''high life,'* which 
seryed to check these oppressiye me^isures and restore 
harmony. 

Among others who came to settle in the thriying 
yillage of Rochester, was a colored man named Daniel 
Furr, who came from the East. He soon became 



134 LOCATE JJ^ THE VILLAGE OF ROCHESTER. 

acquainted with a very respectable young white lady, 
of good family, who after a short acquaintance 
appeared to be perfectly enamored of her dusky 
swain; and notwithstanding the existing prejudice, 
she did not scruple to avow her affection for him, — 
a devotion which appeared to be as sincerely returned 
by the young " Othello." They resolved to marry ; 
but to this, serious objections arose, and all that the 
lady's family and friends could do to break off the 
match was done, but without effect. They could, 
however, prevail on no one to perform the marriage 
ceremony in the village, and finally concluded to go to 
a magistrate in the town of Brighton, four miles 
distant. At this stage of the proceedings I was 
appealed to, to accompany them. I took the matter 
into consideration and came to the conclusion that I 
could take no active part in the affair, nor bear any 
responsible station in the unpleasant occurrence. Is it 
no sin in the sight of the Almighty, for Southern 
gentlemen (?) to mix blood and amalgamate the races ? 
And if allowed to them, is it not equally justifiable 
when the commerce is prompted by affection rather 
than that of lust and force ? But I at length consented 
to accompany them, after learning that all the mischief 
was already done that could be feared, and that the 
gallant lover desired to marry the lady as the only 
atonement he could make for the loss of her repu- 
tation. 



I 



AN UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE. 135 

"We arrived at tlie house of the magistrate about one 
o'clock at night, and all were soundly sleeping. They 
were, however, aroused, and when our business was 
made known, an exciting scene followed. The magis- 
trate refused at first to marry them ; and the lady of the 
house took aside the intended bride, spending two 
hours in endeavoring to dissuade her from the contem- 
plated union ; assuring her that her house should be 
freely opened to her, that no attention should be 
spared during her expected confinement, &c.; but all 
to no purpose. They returned to the parlor where the 
magistrate again tried his power of persuasion, but 
with as little success as his lady had met: and then he 
reluctantly married them. The newly-made husband 
paid a liberal fee, and we took our leave. I returned 
to my home to reflect on the scenes of the past night, 
and Mr. and Mrs. Furr to the house of a friend of the 
bride in Penfield. 

The report soon reached the village that the mar- 
riage had been consummated, which produced a great 
excitement. Threats of an alarming character were 
openly made against the "nigger" who had dared to 
marry a white woman, although at her own request. 
And there was also a class of persons who associated 
together, professing great friendship for the persecuted 
husband, and often drew him into their company, pre- 
tending to defend his cause while they were un- 
doubtedly plotting his destruction. 



136 LOCATE IN THE VILLAGE OP BOCHESTER. 

One day, after Furr had been drinking rather freely, 
with his pretended friends, he was taken so violently 
ill, that a physician was immediately called. I was 
with him when the doctor arrived. He gazed upon 
the suffering man with an angry expression, and 
inquired in a tone of command, "Daniel, what have 
you been doing ? " In vain the poor creature begged 
for relief, the doctor merely repeating his question. 
After looking at him for somo time, he finally admin- 
istered a potion and hastily left the room, saying as he 
did so, " that Furr was as sure to die as though his 
head had been cut off." And so it proved, though not 
so speedily as the medical man had predicted ; nor did 
he ever visit him again, notwithstanding he lingered 
for several days in the most intense agony. It was a 
strong man grappling with disease and death, and the 
strife was a fearful one. But death at last ended the 
scene, with none of all his professed friends, except 
his faithful but heart-broken wife, to adm mister to his 
necessities. No sound save that of the moaning 
widow broke the stillness of his death-chamber. A 
few friends collected, who prepared the emaciated 
body for the grave; enclosing it in a rude board 
coffin it was conveyed to its last resting place, followed 
by three or four men, just as the shades of evening had 
fallen upon this sin-cursed world ; there in darkness 
and silence we lowered his remains, and left the 
gloomy spot to return to his disconsolate wife, who 
had been too ill to join the meager procession. 



HEARTLESS PERSECUTION. 137 

It has ever been my conyiction that Furr was 
poisoned, most likely by some of his false friends who 
must have mingled some deadly drug with his drinks 
or food ; nor do I believe that the medicine adminis- 
tered by the physician was designed to save his life. 
But to Him who knoweth all things, we leave the 
matter. 

His despised, forsaken, and bereaved wife soon fol- 
lowed him to the grave, where she sleeps quietly with 
her innocent babe by her side ; and where probably this 
second Desdemonia finds the only refuge which would 
have been granted her by a heartless and persecuting 
world. 

Oh, when will this nation " cease to do evil and 
learn to do well? " When will they judge character 
in accordance with its moral excellence, instead of the 
complexion a man unavoidably bears to the world ? 



CHAPTER XIY, 



INCIDENTS IN ROCHESTER AND VICINITY. 

AFTER long petitioning, the inhabitants of that 
section succeeded in having the new county of 
Monroe set off from Genesee and Ontario Counties, in 
1821, which gave a new impiJse to the business 
interests of the already flourishing town, which had 
heretofore labored under some disadvantages in conse- 
quence of having all public business done at Canan- 
daigua or Batavia. 

About this time, too, was the Carthage bridge 
built by a company of enterprising gentlemen of that 
village, which at that day was considered one of the 
wonders of the age ; but as its history is well known 
to all interested in the enterprises of those days, it is 
only necessary to say, that the magnificent structure, 
so grand in its appearance, such a pattern of mechan- 
ical ingenuity, exhibiting in all its vast proportions, 
both strength and beauty, combined with utility and 



FALL OF CARTHAGE BRIDGE. 1S9 

grandeur ; and erected at sucli an enormous expense 
of time, labor, and cash, was destined soon to fall. 
It had cost some ten thousand dollars; and had 
been warranted bj the builders to stand one year. 
How great then must have been the loss and disap- 
pointment when in a little more than twenty -four 
hours after the time specified, the ruins of that beauti- 
ful structure were found floating on the broad bosom 
of the Genesee ! And yet when we take into consider- 
ation the vast amount of human life wliich hourly 
passed over its solid surfkce, we can but wonder at the 
intervention of a kind Pro\ddence which prevented 
any loss of life at the time of its fall. A child had 
but just passed over it, when with one general crash it 
sank to the waters below ; mocking in its rapid 
flight, the wisdom of the architect and foresight of 
frail humanity. The fall of Carthage bridge was 
indeed a calamity felt by the public generally, and 
sounded the death-knell of all future greatness to 
Carthage, or at least for some years to come. 

About this time the village was thrown into a state 
of excitement by the arrest of a colored woman named 
Ellen, who it was charged had escaped from service 
due to a Mr. B., south of Mason and Dixon's Line. 
She had been arrested in accordance with a law passed 
by Congress in 1793, which forbids persons owing 
service in one State to flee to another ; and which also 
obliges those receiving such service, to render to the 



140 IN'CIDEXTS IN" ROCHESTER AND VIOIXITY. 

claimant any fugitive from labor due, &c. Poor 
Ellen I She liad many friends and able counsel, but 
nothing short of an open violation of the law of the 
land, could prevent her return to the house of bondage. 
She was tried and given up to him who claimed 
dominion over her. Hopeless and heart-broken, she 
was escorted from the boasted land and village of 
freedom, by a company of the "Light Horse," under 
the command of Capt. Curtis. One poor, persecuted 
slave woman, upon whose heart had fallen a shadow 
darker than death's ; driving every earthly hope of 
liberty from her wounded spirit ; helpless and forlorn I 
She indeed must have required this military parade — 
this show of power ! And that too, by men who 
throw up their caps with a shout for freedom and 
equal rights ! Oh, " consistency, thou art a jewel ! " 

As I recollect but one other incident of the kind 
occurring in Rochester, I will now name it. 

A colored man named Davis, generally known as 
"Doctor Davis," with a reputation unsullied for indus- 
try, truth and sobriety, was arrested as a fugitive from 
slave labor in Kentucky. Two men came on from that 
State, acting in the double capacity of agents for the 
claimant and witnesses against tlie slave. They em- 
ployed Mr. L. as counsel, and hastened on the trial of 
the afflicted African. When it became generally 
known that Davis was arrested, and about to be tried, 
the excitement grew intense among all classes; but 



ARREST OF A * FUGUTTVE SLAVE." 141 

more particularly among the colored people. "When 
the trial came on, the Court room was crowded to 
overflowing, and every avenue leading to it densely 
thronged with deeply anxious persons, assembled to 
witness the result. It became evident, however, that 
the poor man must be given up to his grasping master, 
unless some means were devised to rescue him from 
the power of an unjust law. His friends were on the 
alert, and as the trial proceeded, the colored men found 
an opportunity to get him into a corner of the crowded 
apartment ; wliere, while the officers stood at the door, 
they dressed him in disguise, and otherwise so com- 
pletely changed his personal appearance, that he 
passed out of the Court room, undetected by the 
officers, and as all supposed was safely pursuing his 
way to Canada. 

The hawk-eyed counsel for the Kentuckians, how- 
ever, too soon observed exultation written on every 
dusky countenance, to keep quiet. Starting to his feet 
in great alarm, he cried out " Where is Davis? " And 
oh, how that question startled every one present. 
Every eye gazed hither and thither, and every ear 
intently listened for the answer. After a moment of 
breathless silence, the excited counsellor was assured 
that the "bird had flown," which announcement was 
received with a rapturous shout of joy by the audi- 
ence, greatly, however, to the discomfiture of the 
gentlemen firom Kentucky, who had thought them- 



142 INCIDENTS IN ROCHESTER AND VICINITY. 

selves SO sure of their prize. Nor would they be 
thwarted now. It was not yet too late to overtake 
their victim, and slavery required at their hands a' 
sacrifice which they were ready to make. Hand-bills 
were in immediate circulation, offering a reward of 
fifty dolhirs for the apprehension of the flying fugitive. 
Fifty dollars, for the body and soul of a man to plunge 
into the degradation of Slavery 1 Fifty dollars for the i 
ruin of a fellow being, for whom Christ gave his 
precious life I Yes, fifty dollars are offered to any 
human blood-hound who will hunt and worry the 
p oor slave, who must fly from tliis boasted land of 
liberty, to seek protection in the dominion of Eng- 
land's Queen I 

Unfortunately for Davis, some of these hand-bills 
were thrown on board the very packet on which he 
had embarked for Buffalo ; nor was this all. The bills 
would have left him uninjured, but a scoundrel — an 
apology for a man — was there also, who, for the con- 
sideration of fifty dollars was willing to compromise 
all pretensions to manhood and humanity, and drag j 
from the boat the panting slave, whom he cast beneath 
the heel of his oppressor. When Davis was finally 
retaken, those Kentucky dealers in human chattels, 
held him with a grasp that banished all hope of escape 
by flight; and then in his sorrow and despair the 
wretched, hopeless man cried out " Oh, my God, must 
I return to the hell of Slavery ? Save me, Oh, dear 



ESCAPE, RE-ARREST, AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. 143 

Lord, save this, thy helpless, friendless servant, from 
a fate so dreadful I Oh, Christian friends and neigh- 
bors, I appeal to you to rescue me from a life far more 
terrible than death in any form I Oh, God, is there no 
protection for me in the laws of New York ? I claim 
it, by all that is sacred in her past history I Give me 
liberty or death I or death I " he repeated, with a 
shudder ; then casting one glance of hopeless agony 
on his persecutors, he secretly drew from his pocket a 
razor, and before he could be prevented he drew it 
across his throat, and fell gasping in the midst of his 
slave-hunting tormentors, while a collection of by- 
standers cried *' Shame I shame I on the institution 
of Slavery ! " 

Poor Davis was not dead, but supposing he soon 
would be, these gentlemen were requested to give 
security, and indemnify the town for all expenses it 
might incur on Davis' account. But instead of giving 
their bond as requested, they took a sudden start 
for Kentucky, where it was very generally desired 
they'might remain. 

With good treatment, Davis, after a long time, re- 
covered sufficiently to be removed by his friends to a 
place of safety ; and when so far restored as to be able 
he returned to Rochester, where he received assistance 
which enabled him to reach Canada. I have often 
heard from him during his residence in that country, 
where no slaves exist and he has done well, having 



144 INCIDENTS IN ROCHESTER AND VICINITY. 

quite an extensive practice in medicine, and lives in the 
quiet enjoyment of that liberty which he struggled so 
hard to obtain and came so near losing ; yet, to this 
day he prefers death to Slavery. And who does not ? 
None, who have breathed the air of freedom after an 
experience of unrequited toil to enrich a brutal and 
selfish master. Truly is it said, "a contented slave is 
a degraded being." 






CHAPTER XY 



SAD EEYERSES OF CAPT. HELM. 

I MUST again introduce to the kind reader my 
old master, Capt. Helm, wlio we left residing in 
Bath, several years ago. And as I have before inti- 
mated he had now become a very poor man ; indeed 
so reduced was he now that he lived with one of his 
slave women, and was supported by public charity ! 
Learning, too, that I had saved by my industry a few 
hundred dollars, it seemed very congenial with his 
avaricious habits to endeavor to obtain what I pos- 
sessed. In accordance with his plan he employed a 
lawyer named Lewland to come to my place of busi- 
ness, which he did, and demanded of me to pay Capt. 
Helm two hundred dollars. He also left a notice, 
forbidding all persons to take or destroy any property 
in my possession ; and then impudently inquired how 
I expected to gain my freedom ; if I thought of 
applying for a writ of haJ^ceus corpus; and many 
Gt 



i46 SAD REVERSES OF CAPT HELM. 

other questions; to whicli I replied that I should pay 
no money on the order of Capt. Helm ; apply for no 
writ; but should continue to maintain my personal 
rights and enjoy the freedom which was already mine, 
and which I designed to keep, assuring him that the 
Captain had forfeited his claim, if he had any, to me or 
my services, when he hired me to Mr. Tower. 

He hung about me for a day or two, and then left 
me to pursue my business — I saw no more of him. 
Some time afterward Mr. H. E. Rochester informed me 
that he had a suhjyoena for me, which I found w^as 
issued by the direction of Capt. Helm. By Mr. 
Rochester's counsel, I took it to Mr. A. Sampson, who 
assured me that my old master had commenced a suit 
against me in the Court of Equity, and the case would 
be tried before "Wm. B. Rochester, Esq., who was one 
of the circuit judges. Capt. Helm claimed every 
particle of property I possessed ; a claim that occasioned 
me great anxiety and some cost. 

Mr. Sampson encouraged me to hope, however, 
that the case would be dismissed as two other cases of 
that kind had been. 

I labored to the best of my ability to prepare 
myself for the trial, which was to decide whether I 
had a right to possess myself and command my own 
services and earnings, or whether all belonged to Capt. 
Helm. As I looked forward with anxious forebodings 
to the day appointed for the suit to commence, I was 



DEATH OF CAPT. HELM. 1-17 

Startled by the announcement of my old master's 
death ! Yes, Capt. Helm was dead ; and with him 
died the law suit. He who had so wronged me, who 
had occasioned me so much suffering and sorrow had 
gone to his account. He who had once been thought 
to be one of the wealthiest as well as one of the 
greatest men in the county, died a pauper — neglected 
and despised, and scarcely awarded a decent burial. 
Like his wife, who died such a horrid death, he had 
been reared in affluence and was an inheritor of vast 
possessions, but his home was in a slave State ; he was 
raised on a plantation, and nurtured in the atmosphere 
of Slavery. 

In his youth he had contracted the habit of drinking 
to excess, beside that of gambling, horse-racing and 
the like, which followed him through life. Forgotten 
and scorned in his poverty by many who had partaken 
of his abundance, sipped his wine, and rode his fast 
horses. 

During the last war his princely mansion was ever 
open to the officers of the army, and many a wounded 
soldier has been cheered and comforted by his hospi- 
tality. But now he is regarded as no better than his 
poorest slave, and lies as lowly as they, in the narrow 
house appointed for all the living. 

My old master had two brothers: the oldest, Thomas 
Helm, was a Captain in the United States Army, and 
had been in many hard-fought battles. His yoimger 



148 SAD REVERSES OF CAPT. IIEL:M. 

brother, William, was a Captain also ; but Thomas 
was the man to awaken curiosity. I have lived with 
him, but never knew of his going unarmed for an 
hour, until he left Virginia and came to Steuben 
County, where he died. When at the South, I hav® 
seen strangers approach him, but they were invariably 
commanded to "stand" and to "approach him at their 
peril." He finally came to the State of New York, 
bringing with him his " woman" with whom he lived, 
and two children, with whom he settled on a piece of 
land given him by my old master, where the old 
soldier lived, died, and was buried on one of his small 
" clearings" under an old apple tree. He owned a few 
slaves, but at his death his " woman" collected every 
thing she could, and among the rest, two or three 
slave children, to whom she had no right or claim 
whatever, and made her way to Kentucky. About a 
year ago I visited the spot where the brave old 
defender of his country had been buried, but found 
very little to mark the resting place of the brother of 
my old master. They had passed away. Their wealth, 
power and bravery had come to nought; and no 
tribute was now paid to the memory of one of " Old 
Virginia's best families." The hhod of which they 
were wont to boast, was now no more revered 
than that which commingled with the African and 
circulated in the veins of his despised and down- 
trodden slaves. 



CHAPTER XYI, 



BRITISH EMANCIPATION OF SLAVERY. 

AS time passed on I found myself progressing in a 
profitable business. I had paid for my house 
and lot, and purchased another adjoining, on which I 
had erected a valuable brick building. The Lord 
prospered all my undertakings and I felt grateful for 
my good fortune. I kept all kinds of groceries 
and grain, which met a ready sale ; and now I began 
to look about me for a partner in life, to share my 
joys and sorrows, and to assist me on through the 
tempestuous scenes of a life-long voyage. Such a 
companion I found in the intelligent and amiable Miss 

B , to whom I was married on the eleventh of 

May, 1825. She was the youngest daughter of a 
particular friend, who had traveled extensively and 
was noted for his honesty and intelligence. 

About this time, too, "Sam Patch" made his last 
and fatal leap from a scaifold twenty five feet above 



150 BRITISH EMAKCIAPATION OF SLAVERY. 

the falls of Genesee, wbicli are ninety-six feet in 
height. From thence he plunged into the foaming 
river to rise no more in life. The following spring 
the body of the foolish man was found and buried, 
after having lain several months in the turbulent 
waters of the Genesee. 

This year was also rendered memorable by the 
efficient labors of Professor Finney, through whose 
faithful preaching of the gospel, many were brought 
to a saving knowledge of the truth. 

The " Emancipation Act" had now been passed, and 
the happy time for it to take effect was drawing nigh. 
Slavery could no longer exist in the Empire State nor 
receive the protection of her laws. Would to God it 
had so continued to be what it professed — the refuge 
of the bondman and the home of the free. But alas I 
Now the flying fugitive from Slavery finds no security 
within her borders ; he must flee onward, to the 
dominion of Queen Yictoria, ere he rests, lest the 
exaction of the odious ''Fugitive Slave Law" return 
him to the house of bondage. 

But the Emancipation Bill had been passed, and the 
colored people felt it to be a time fit for rejoicing. 
They met in different places and determined to evince 
their gratitude by a general celebration. In Rochester 
they convened in large numbers, and resolved to 
celebrate the glorious day of freedom at Johnson's 
Square, on the fifth day of July. This arrangement 



GREAT CELEBRATION. 151 

was made so as not to interfere with, the white popula- 
tion who were everywhere celebrating the clay of 
their independence — " the Glorious Fourth," — for amid 
the general and joyous shout of liberty, prejudice 
had sneeringly raised the finger of scorn at the poor 
African, whose iron bands were loosed, not only 
from English oppression, but the more cruel and 
oppressive power of Slavery. 

They met according to previous appointment, Mr. 

A. H , having been chosen president, Mr. H. 

E , marshal, and Mr. H. D , reader of the 

"Act of Emancipation," and "The Declaration of 
Independence." A large audience of both white 
and colored people assembled, and the day which had 
been ushered in by the booming cannon, passed by 
in the joyous realization that we were indeed free 
men. To the music of the band the large procession 
marched from the square to the hotel, where ample 
provision was made for dinner, after listening to 
the following oration*, which I had been requested to 
deliver. 

I must not omit to mention that on the morning of 
that happ}^ day, a committee of colored men waited 
upon the Hon. Matthew Brown, and in behalf of the 
citizens of Monroe County, presented their thanks for 
his noble exertions in the Legislature, in favor of the 
Act by which thousands were made free men. 

They were received by that worthy gentlemen 



152 



BRITISH EMANCIPATION OF SLAVER Y. 



with grateful and pleasing assurances of his continued 
labor in behalf of freedom. 

Now I will lay before the reader my address to the 
audience on that eventfol day. 



CHAPTEE XYII. 



OEATION — TEEMINATION OF SLAVERY. 

THE age in wliicli we live is characterised in no 
ordinary degree, by a certain boldness and 
rapidity in the march of intellectual and political 
improvements. Inventions the most surprising; re- 
volutions the most extraordinary, are springing forth, 
and passing in quick succession before us, — all tending 
most clearly to the advancement of mankind towards 
that state of earthly perfection and happiness, from 
which they are yet so far distant, but of which their 
nature and that of the world they inhabit, are most 
certainly capable. It is at all times pleasing and in- 
structive to look backward by the light of history, and 
forward by the light of analogical reasoning, to behold 
the gradual advancement of man from barbarism to 
civilization, from ci^dlization toward the higher perfeo - 
tions of his nature ; and to hope — nay, confidently be- 
lieve, that the time is not far distant when liberty and 
G* 



154 ORATIO^r. 

equal riglits being eveiy^liere established, morality 
and tbe religion of tbe gospel everyT\'liere diffused, — 
man shall no longer lift his hand for the oppression of 
his fellow man ; but all, mutually assisting and as- 
sited, shall move onward throughout the journey of 
human life, like the peaceful caravan across the burn- 
ing sands of Arabia. And never, on this glorious 
anniversary, so often and so deservedly celebrated by 
milHons of free men, but which we are to-day for the 
first time called to celebrate — never before, has the 
eye been able to survey the past with so much satisr 
action, or the future with hopes and expectations so 
brilliant and so flattering ; it is to us a day of two-fold 
joy. TVe are men, though the strong hand of preju- 
dice and oppression is upon us ; we can, and we will 
rejoice in the advancement of the rapidly increasing 
happiness of mankind, and especially of our own 
race. We can, and we will rejoice in the growing 
power and glory of the country we inhabit. Although 
Almighty God has not permitted us to remain in the 
land of our forefathers and our own, the glories of 
national independence, and the sweets of civil and reli- 
gious liberty, to their full extent ; but the strong hand 
of the spoiler has borne us into a strange land, yet has 
He of His great goodness given us to behold those 
best and noblest of his gifts to man, in their fairest 
and loveliest forms ; and not only have we beheld 
them, but we have already felt much of their benig- 



TEKMIXATIOX OF SLAVEKY. 155 

nant influence. Most of lis have hitherto enjoyed 
many, very many of the dearest rights of freemen. 
Oiir lives and personal liberties have been held as 
sacred and inviolable ; the rights of property have 
been extended to us, in this land of fi^edom ; our 
industry has been, and still is, liberally rewarded; 
and so long as we live under a free and happy govern- 
ment which denies us not the protection of its laws, 
why should we fret and vex ourselves because we 
have had no part in framing them, nor anything to do 
with their administration. TThen the fruits of the 
earth are fully afforded us, we do not wantonly refuse 
them, nor imgratefully repine because we have done 
nothing towards the cultivation of the tree which pro- 
duces them. No, we accept them with lively gratitude ; 
and their sweetness is not embittered by reflecting 
upon he manner in which they were obtained. It is 
the dictate of sound wisdom, then, to enjoy without 
repining, the freedom, privileges, and immunities 
which wise and equal laws have awarded us — nay, 
proudly to rejoice and glory in their production, and 
stand ready at all times to defend them at the hazard 
of our lives, and of all that is most dear to us. 

But are we alone shut out and excluded from any 
share in the administration of government ? Are not 
the clergy, a class of men equally ineligible to 
office? A class of men almost idolized by their 
countrymen, ineligible to office ! And are we alone 



156 ORATION". 

excluded from wliat tlie world chooses to denominate 
polite society ? And are not a vast majority of tlie 
polar race excluded ? I know not why, but mankind 
of every age, nation, and complexion have had lower 
classes; and, as a distinction, they have chosen to 
arrange themselves in the grand spectacle of human 
life, like seats in a theater — rank above rank, with 
intervals between them. But if any suppose that hap- 
piness or contentment is confined to any single class, 
or that the high or more splendid order possesses any 
substantial advantage in those respects over their more 
lowly brethren, they must be wholly ignorant of all 
rational enjoyment. For what though the more 
humble orders cannot mingle with the higher on terms 
of equality. This, if rightly considered, is not a 
curse but a blessing. Look around you, my friends : 
what rational enjoyment is not within your reach? 
Your homes are in the noblest country in the world, 
and all of that country which your real happiness 
requires, may at any time be yours. Your industry 
can purchase it ; and its righteous laws will secure you 
in its possession. But, to what, my friends, do you owe 
all these blessings ? Let not the truth be concealed. 
You owe them to that curse, that bitter scourge of 
Africa, whose partial abolishment you are this day 
convened to celebrate. Slavery has been your curse, 
but it shall become your rejoicing. Like the people 
of Grod in Egypt, you have been afflicted; but like 



TEEMINATION OF SLAVERY. 157 

tliem too, you have been redeemed. You are hence- 
forth free as the mountain winds. Why should ^Ye, 
on this day of congratulation and joy, turn our yiew 
upon the origin of African Slavery ? Why should 
we harrow up our minds by dwelling on the deceit, 
the forcible fraud and treacher}^ that have been so 
long practised on your hospitable and unsuspecting 
countrymen? Why speak of fathers torn from the 
bosom of their families, wives from the embraces of 
their husbands, children from the protection of their 
parents; in fine, of all the tender and endearing 
relations of life disf.olyed and trampled under foot, by 
the accursed traffic in human flesh? Why should 
we remember, in joy and exultation, the thousands 
of our countrymen who are to-day, in this land of 
gospel light, this boasted land of civil and religious 
liberty, writhing under the lash and groaning beneath 
the grinding weight of Slavery's chain? I ask. Al- 
mighty God, are they who do such things thy chosen 
and favorite people ? But, away with such thoughts 
as these; we will rejoice, though sobs interrupt the 
songs of our rejoicing, and tears mingle in the cup we 
pledge to Freedom ; our harps though they have long 
hung neglected upon the willows, shall this day be 
strung full high to the notes of gladness. On this 
^ay, in one member at least of this mighty Republic, 
the Slavery of our race has ceased forever I 'No more 
shall the insolent voice of a master be the main-spring 



158 ORATION. 

of oiir nctions, the sole guide of our conduct ;^ no more 
shall thers hands labor in degrading and profitless 
servitude. Their toils will henceforth be voluntary, 
and be crowned with the never failing reward of 
industry. Honors and dignities may perhaps never be 
ours ; but wealth, virtue, and happiness are all within 
the compass of our moderate exertions. And how 
shall we employ a few moments better than in reflect- 
ing upon the means by which these are to be obtained. 
For what can be more proper and more profitable to 
one who has just gained an invaluable treasure, than 
to consider how he may use it to the best possible 
advantage? And here I need not tell you that a 
strict observance to all the precepts of the gospel 
ought to be your first and highest aim ; for small will 
be the value of all that the present world can bestow, 
if the interests of the world to come are neglected and 
despised. None of you can be ignorant of what the 
gospel teaches. Bibles may easily be obtained; nor 
can there be a greater disgrace, or a more shameful 
neglect of duty than for a person of mature age, and 
much more, for any father of a family to be without 
that most precious of all books — the Bible. If, there- 
fore, any of you are destitute of a Bible, hasten to 
procure one. Will any of you say that it can be of 
no use to you, or that you cannot read it? Look 
then to that noblest of all remedies for this evil, the 
Sunday School — that most useful of all institutions. 



TERMINATION OF SLAVEBY. 159 

There you may learn without loss of time or money, 
that of which none should be ignorant — to read. 

Let me exhort you with earnestness to give your 
most sincere attention to this matter. It is of the 
utmost importance to every one of you. Let your 
next object be to obtain as soon as may be, a compe- 
tency of the good things of this world; immense 
wealth is not necessary for you, and would but 
diminish your real happiness. Abject poverty is and 
ought to be regarded as the greatest, most terrible of 
all possible evils. It should be shunned as a most 
deadly and damning sin. What then are the means 
by which so dreadful a calamity may be avoided? 
I will tell you, my friends, in these simple words — ^hear 
and ponder on them ; write them upon the tablets of 
your memory; they are worthy to be inscribed in 
letters of gold upon every door-post — "industry, pru- 
dence, and economy." Oh 1 they are words of power 
to guide you to respectability and happiness. Attend, 
then, to some of the laws which industry impose, while 
you have health and strength. Let not the rising sun 
behold you sleeping or indolently lying upon your beds. 
Kise ever with the morning light ; and, till sun-set, give 
not an hour to idleness. Say not human nature cannot 
endure it. It can — it almost requires it. Sober, dili- 
gent, and moderate labor does not diminish it, but on 
the contrary, greatly adds to the health, vigor, and 
duration of the human frame. Thousands of the 



160 ORATION. 

human race have died prematurely of disease engen- 
dered by indolence and inactivity. Few, very few 
indeed, have suffered by the too long continuance of 
bodily exertion. As you give the day to labor, so 
devote the night to rest ; for who that has drunk and 
reveled all night at a tippling shop, or wandered about 
in search of impious and stolen pleasures, has not by so 
doing not only committed a most heinous and damning 
sin in the sight of Heaven, but rendered himself wholly 
unfit for the proper discharge of the duties of the 
coming day. Kor think that industry or true happi- 
ness do not go hand in hand; and to him who is 
engaged in some useful avocation, time flies delight- 
fully and rapidly away. ' He does not, like the idle 
and indolent man, number the slow hours with sighs — 
cursing both himself and them for the tardiness of 
their flight. Ah, my friends, it is utterly impossible 
for him who wastes time in idleness, ever to know 
anything of true happiness. Indolence, poverty, 
wretchedness, are inseparable companions, — fly them, 
shun idleness, as from eminent and inevitable destruc- 
tion. In vain will you labor unless prudence and 
economy preside over and direct all your exertions. 
Eemember at all times that money even in your own 
1 lands, is power; with it you may direct as you will 
tlio actions of your pale, proud brethren. Seek after 
and amass it then, by just and honorable means ; and 
once in your hand never part with it but for a full and 



TERMINATION OF SLAVERY. 161 

fair equivalent ; nor let tliat equivalent be sometliing 
wliicli you do not want, and for wliicli you cannot 
obtain more than it cost you. Be watcliful and dili- 
gent and let your mind be fruitfiil in devises for the 
honest advancement of your worldly interest. So 
shall you continually rise in respectability, in rank 
and standing in this so late and so long the land of 
your captivity. 

Above all things refrain from the excessive use of 
ardent spirits. There is no evil whose progress is so 
imperceptible ; and at the same time so sure and deadly, 
as that of intemperance ; and by slow degrees it under- 
mines health, wealth, and happiness, till all at length 
tumble into one dreadful mass of ruin. If God has 
given you children, he has in so doing imposed upon 
you a most fearful responsibility ; believe me, friends, 
you will answer to God for every misfortune suffered, 
and every crime committed by them which right 
education and example could have taught them to 
avoid. Teach them reverence and obedience to the 
laws both of God and man. Teach them sobriety, 
temperance, justice, and truth. Let their minds be 
rightly instructed — imbued with kindness and brother- 
ly love, charity, and benevolence. Let them possess 
at least so much learning as is to be acquired in the 
common schools of the country. In short, let their 
welfare be dearer to you than any earthly enjoyment; 
so shall they be the richest of earthly blessings. 



162 ORATION. 

My countrymen, let us hencefortli remember that 
we are men. Let us as one man, on this day resolve 
that henceforth, by continual endeavors to do good to 
all mankind, we will claim for ourselves the attention 
and respect which as men we should possess. So shall 
every good that can be the portion of man, be ours — 
this life shall be happy, and the life to come, glorious. 



The opinion of the public regarding the celebration 
and performances of that day, together with the 
behavior of the colored people, will be seen by the 
following short extract from the Rochester Daily Adver- 
tiser^ published soon after the occurrence of those 
events : 

"abolition of slavery. 

" The extinction of that curse by the laws of our 
State, was marked with appropriate rejoicings on the 
part of the African race in this neighborhood. A 
procession of considerable length and respectable 
appearance, preceded by a band of music, moved 
from Brown's Island through the principal streets to 
the public square, yesterday forenoon, where a stage 
and seats were erected, for the speakers and audience. 
The throne of Grace was addressed by the Rev. Mr. 
AJlen, a colored clergyman. The act declaring all 



TERMINATION OF SLAVERY. 163 

slaves free in tHs State, on the fourth, day of July, 
1827, was read, which was succeeded by the reading 
of the Declaration of Independence and delivery of 
an oration by Mr. Steward. "We have heard but one 
opinion from several gentlemen who were present, 
and that was highly complimentary to the composition 
and delivery of the same. 

" The exercises were concluded by a short discourse 
from the Eev. Mr. Allen, and the procession moved 
oflP to partake of an entertainment prepared for the 
occasion. The thing was got up in good order, and 
passed off remarkably well. The conduct of the 
emancipated race was exemplary throughout, and if 
their future enjoyment of freedom be tinctured with 
the prudence that characterised their celebration of its 
attainment, the country will have no reason to mourn 
the philanthropy that set them free." 

Thus ended our first public celebration of our own 
and our country's freedom. All conducted themselves 
with the strictest propriety and decorum, retiring to 
their homes soberly and in proper season. 



CHAPTEK XYIII, 



CONDITION OF FREE COLORED PEOPLE. 

PURSUAlSrT to a call given in the summer of 
1830, by the colored residents of Philadelphia, 
for a National Convention of their race, I started in 
company with a friend to attend it ; having previously 
engaged seats inside Mr. Coe's stage-coach as far as 
Utica, N". Y., to which place we had paid our flxre the 
same as other passengers. 

We rode on to Auburn very pleasantly, but when 
at that place, we with others moved to resume our 
seats; we were met by a stern rebuke for presuming 
to seat ourselves on the inside, and were ordered to 
ride on the outside of the coach. In vain we expos- 
tulated in vain we reminded the driver of the 
agreement, and of our having paid for an inside seat ; 
we were told to take the outside of the coach or 
remain behind. 

Desiring to attend the convention, we concluded to go 



ATTEND COLORED NATIONAL CONVENTION. 165 

on, submitting to tliis rank injustice and dislionesty, 
until our return, when we determined to sue the pro- 
prietor of that line of stages. An opportunity was 
offered soon after, when I commenced a suit for 
damages against Mr. Sherwood, who was the great 
stage proprietor of those days. He, however, cleared 
himself by declaring that he was in no way responsible 
for the failui'es of Mr. Coe, to whom I must look 
for remuneration. I never found it convenient to sue 
Mr. Coe, and so the matter ended. 

We passed through ISTew York City to the place of 
our destination, where we found many of our brethren 
already assembled. 

Philadelphia, which I now saw for the first time, I 
thought the most beautiful and regularly laid out city 
I ever beheld. Here had lived the peaceable, just, and 
merciful William Penn ; and here many of his ad- 
herents still reside. Here, too, was the place where 
the Et. Eev. Bishop Allen, the first colored American 
bishop in the United States, had labored so success- 
fally. When the Methodists sought to crush by cruel 
prejudice the poor African, he stepped boldly forward 
in defence of their cause, which he sustained with 
a zeal and talent ever to be revered. 

Thousands were brought to a knowledge of the 
truth, and induced "to seek first the kingdom of 
heaven and its righteousness," through his instrumen- 
tality. Through the .benign influence of this good 



166 CONDITION OF FREE COLORED PEOPLE. 

man, friends and means were raised for his poor 
brethren, to build houses of worship, where they 
would no more be dragged from their knees when in 
prayer, and told to seat themselves by the door. Oh, 
how much good can one good and faithful man do, 
when devoted to the cause of humanity — following in 
the footsteps of the blessed Christ ; doing unto others 
as they would be done by ; and remembering those in 
bonds as bound with them. What though his skin be 
black as ebony, if the heart of a brother beats in his 
bosom ? Oh, that man could judge of character as 
does our Heavenly Father ; then would he judge 
righteous judgment, and cease to look haughtily down 
upon his afihcted fellow, because "his skin is colored 
not like his own." 

We convened at the specified time, and organized 
by appointing Rev. R. Allen, president, A. Steward, 
vice-president, and J. C. Morrell, secretary. The 
convention which continued in session three days, 
was largely attended by all classes of people, and 
many interesting subjects were ably discussed ; but 
the most prominent object was the elevation of our 
race. Resolutions were passed calculated to encourage 
our brethren to take some action on the subjects of 
education and mechanism. Agricultural pursuits 
were also recommended ; — and here allow me to give 
my opinion in favor of the latter, as a means of STiste- 
nance and real happiness. 



AGRICULTURE PREFERABLE TO SERFDOM. 167 

I knew many colored farmers, all of wliom are well 
respected in the neighborliood of their residence. I 
wish I could count them hj hundreds ; but our people 
mostly flock to cities where they allow themselves to 
be made "hewers of wood and drawers of water;" 
barbers and waiters, — when, if they would but retire 
to the country and purchase a piece of land, cultivate 
and improve it, they would be far richer and happier 
than they can be in the crowded city. It is a mistaken 
idea that there is more prejudice against color in the 
country. True, it exists everywhere, but I regard it 
less potent in the country, where a farmer can live less 
dependant on his oppressors. The sun will shine, the 
rains descend, and the earth bring forth her increase, 
just as readily for the colored agriculturist as for his 
pale face neighbor. Yes, and our common mother 
Earth will, when life is ended, as readily open her 
bosom to receive your remains in a last embrace, as 
that of the haughty scorner of our rights. 

In the city, however, there is no escape from the 
crushing weight of prejudice, to ramble over fields of 
your own cultivation ; to forget your sorrows in the 
refreshing air that waves the loaded branches of an 
orchard of your own planting ; nor to solace yourself 
with a gambol over the green meadow with your little 
ones. It is all toil, toil, with a burthened heart until 
shadows fall across the hearthstone, and dismal fore- 
bodings darken the fireside, from whence the weary 



168 CONDITION OF FREE COLORED PEOPLE. 

wife retires to refresh herself in broken slumber for 
the renewed toil of another day. Will not mj friends 
think of these and many other advantages in favor of 
a country life, and practice accordingly ? 

After the close of the convention, I returned to my 
business in Eochester. 

Until the discussion, which commenced about this 
time on the subject of temperance, I had been engaged, 
as most other grocers were at that time, in the sale of 
spirituous liquors somewhat extensively. My attention 
had never before been called especially to the subject, 
though I had witnessed some of its direst evils ; but 
now, when I saw the matter in its true light, I resolved 
to give it up. I was doing well and making hand- 
some profits on the sale of alcoholic beverages. I had 
also experienced a good deal of trouble with it. My 
license allowed me to sell any quantity less than five 
gallons; but it was a fine of twenty-five dollars if 
drunk on the premises, — one half of the sum to go to 
the complainant. If a vicious man got out of funds 
it became both easy and common for him to give some 
person a sixpence, half of which was to be spent for 
whisky, which made him a witness for the other, who 
would make immediate complaint, and collect his 
share of the fine. Not could I prevent men who came 
with bottles, and purchased whisky, from drinking it 
where they pleased ; consequently I was often called 
to answer to such complaints. 



ABANDON THE LIQUOB TRAFFIC. 169 

One morning a man entered my store and called for 
liquor, which the clerk gave him. After drinking it, 
he went directly to the office of A. House, Esq., and 
entered a complaint against the clerk who had served 
him ; then stepped out for consultation with his coun- 
sel. At that moment I arrived at the office of the 
magistrate to whom I immediately made complaint 
against myself, relating to him also just how the 
event happened. In a few minutes the original com- 
plainant returned, to whom 'Squire House explained 
that he should have arraigned the proprietor of the 
store, and not the clerk as he had done. Determined 
on making a speculation, however, he demanded a 
precept for myself. The 'Squire, laughing most 
heartily, informed him that he was too late, — that Mr. 
Steward had the start of him, having just entered a 
complaint against himself, by which he saves one half 
of the fine. The man walked out, looking rather 
''cheap," nor did he or others annoy me afterwards by 
making complaints of that kind. 

But now I saw, as never before, the sin of selling 
that which would make beasts of men, and only 
stopped to inquire what was duty in the matter. All 
the arguments in favor of its sale were more forcible 
then than now. All classes of persons used and drank 
the article ; and it required more moral courage, to 
relinquish the business than it does now. Neverthe- 
less, it appeared plain to my mind, that duty to God 
H 



170 CO^TDinON' OF FEEE COLOEED PEOPLE. 

and mj fellow-men required it, and I clieerfully gave 
it up forever. 

I could not conscientiously, nor do I see how any 
man can, continue to traffic in this most fruitful source 
of pauperism and crime. Xo benefit whatever arises 
from its use as a beverage or from its sale. It is a 
curse to the drinker, to the seller, and to the com- 
munity. Those who are licensed venders take from 
the government fifty dollars for every one put into the 
treasury. The money paid for licenses is a very 
meager compensation for the beggary, crime, and 
bloodshed which rum produces. All who have any 
knowledge of the statistics of the State, or of our 
prison and pohce records know, that intemperance has 
done more to fill the prisons, work-houses, alms-houses, 
and asylums of the State than all other influences 
combined; and yet men uphold the traffic. Their 
favors are for those who love its use and sale, and 
their anathemas for him who is stri^^g to save a 
nation of drunkards from swift destruction ; yea, their 
own sires, sons, and brothers from the grave of the 
inebriate. 

When in Eochester a short time since, soliciting 
subscribers for this work, I stepped into a distillery 
and asked a man to subscribe for it. He hesitated in 
his decision until he took a tumbler and fillingr it with 
brandy, invited me to drink. I thanked him, saying 
I never drink brandy. '• Never drink ! " he growled, 



EETLZCnOXS OX DTTOCFB&I^CSK. ITl 

" then. I tell von, sir, that tou siani a micJi c-^rrer 
chance of being struck bv iigimiinz tlaji of ^ttiiig- a 
snbaciiber here.'' Oh, very ^^'1: mi'ci likelv Lid 
he agreed to take a copy, he ^iili hive b*e€iL sc^^^lf 
SksfAsaaed with my Tiews of the lie : ~ i.i 

perhape with the compliment I have h : 

But in the foregoing remarks I have _ r 

erf what my heart feels. ~_ _ I : ^ : t f irr.::^ 

oocaskxied by drunkenness. 

Even the cup of the bmdfeened siaTe. writhing in 
his chains and tcaling unda' ihe hsh. 's -'z fzH of 
bittemes until the dancn rma throws i_ : .- _ :^; :jii 
fills it to OTerflowing. 

How often does it occur that a passionate master, 
heated with wine, — mad with hii:i5^:_:' --' '/ '--t 
him, pours out his vengef^il ire :r. : . .'^ 

of some helpless slave, and 1 : -nr hi 

his blood! How often may be hsard the ag.mze:. 
wail of the slave modi^, d^ilodiig the depsr 

some innocent child tiiat lias Ixeen lost in ca.:_ _. 

while the master was intoxicated ! 

How often do the shrieks of the poor bn* vim:~s 
slave girL ring through the midnight air, as she, rle^ii- 
ing for death latliar than life, rashes scieairiiig away 
from a bmtal master, infoiiated and drank ! If it is 
a &ct» and o»tainly it is, Uml tiie masler is Ans 
affected by his costly wine ; what, think you, wiH be 
tiie touptf and oouditioA of tbe ccmow and kBaitican 



172 CX)NDITION OF FREE COLORED PEOPLE. 

overseer who drinks his miserable whisky or bad 
brandy ? It is horrible, beyond description. I have 
often myself seen a drunken overseer, after pouring 
down dram after dram, mount his horse and ride 
furiously among the slaves, beating, bruising, mangling 
with his heavy cowhide every one he chanced to meet, 
until the ground presented the appearance of a battle- 
field. 



CHAPTEE XIX 



PERSECUTION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE. 

WHILE tlie colored population of New York 
were rejoicing in the measure of freedom 
allowed them bj the more wholesome laws of that 
State, our brethren in Ohio were being oppressed and 
maltreated by the unjust and odious "black laws" of 
that professedly free State, enacted with special refer- 
ence to the disposition of the colored race. 

In Cincinnati, 0., within sight of the slave land of 
Kentucky, a terrible persecution had commenced, and 
an effort was made to drive all colored persons from 
the place. 

Our people had settled there in large numbers, but 
now a mob had assembled in that city with the deter- 
mination to drive them, not only from their homes and 
city, but from the State. A bloody conflict ensued, in 
which the white and black man's blood mingled 
freely. So great had been the loss of property ; and 



174 PERSECUTION" OF THE COLORED PEOPLE. 

SO horrid and fearful had been the scene, that our 
people chose to leave, rather than remain under such 
untoward circumstances. They lived in constant fear 
of the mob which had so abused and terrified them. 
Families seated at the fireside started at every breath 
of wind, and trembled at the sound of every approach- 
ing footstep. The father left his family in fear, lest on 
his return from his daily labor, he should find his wife 
and children butchered, and his house left desolate. 

Meetings were held to devise plans and means for 
leaving the place where they had been so cruelly 
treated. But where should they go? And why 
should they be compelled to leave the State of Ohio ? 
The fact is, that the African race there, as in all parts 
of this nominally free Eepublic, Was looked down 
upon by the white population as being little above the 
brute creation ; or, as belonging to some separate class 
of degraded beings, too deficient in intellect to provide 
for their own wants, and must therefore depend on the 
superior ability of their oppressors, to take care of 
them. Indeed, both the time and talents of eminent 
men have been wasted in unsuccessful research for the 
line of demarkation, between the African and the 
highest order of animals, — such for instance as the 
monkey or the ourang-outang. Some even, have ad- 
vanced the absurd idea, that wicked Cain transmitted 
to them the " mark" which the Almighty set upon 
him for the murder of his brother; and that he, (who 



THE COLORED RACE NOT INFERIOR. 175 

then must have survived the deluge), is the progenitor 
of that despised and inferior race — the negro slave of 
the United States of America ! 

If it be true, that the natural inferiority of the black 
man, connects him so closely with the animal creation, 
it looks passing strange to me that he should be made 
responsible for the violation of laws which he has 
been declared too imbecile to aid in framing or of 
comprehending. Nor is it less strange to see him 
enslaved and compelled by his labor to maintain both 
his master and himself, after having declared him 
incapable of doing either. Why not let him go then ? 
Why hold with an unyielding grasp, so miserable and 
useless a piece of property ? Is it benevolence that 
binds him with his master's chain? Judge ye. 
Stranger still is the fact of attaching such vast influ- 
ence to his presence and so much concern regarding 
his movements, when in a state of freedom, if indeed, 
he is of so little worth and consequence, and so nearly 
related to the brutes that perish. 

Surely, the Legislature of Ohio, or of any other 
5tate, would never feel called upon to sit in grave 
^.ounsel, for the purpose of framing laws which would 
impose fine and imprisonment on a monkey, should 
one chance to locate within its jurisdiction; nor would 
they think it advisable for the court to assemble, or a 
jury to be empanneled, to drive from their midst an 
ourang-outang. And yet this and more must be done 
to get rid of the hated negro, who has been born in 



176 PERSECUTION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE. 

that State, or has fled to it for protection from the 
manstealer. 

When strangers pass hastily through this country, 
and after a careless glance at the colored population, 
report them to be "an indolent, improvident, and 
vicious class of persons," they should consider some 
of the many obstacles thrown in the way of the most 
favored of that race. Knowing as they do, the rigor 
of the law, and feeling as they do, the oppressive 
power of prejudice, it becomes almost impossible for 
them to rise to that station they were designed to fill, 
and for which their natural abilities as certainly 
qualify them, as though they had never been robbed 
of their God-given rights. But let us return to our 
tried friends in Cincinnati. 

They finally resolved to collect what they could of 
their possessions and establish a colony in Canada. 
In accordance with this resolution, they agreed to first 
send an agent to obtain liberty to settle there, and if 
successful to select and purchase a large tract of land, 
making such arrangements as he thought best for their 
speedy removal to their new home. Israel Lewis was 
their appointed agent, who departed immediately for 
Upper Canada to perform his mission ; and there for 
the present we will leave him and return to Eochester 

Our more favored brethren in New York felt a deep 
sympathy for their outraged countrymen in Cincin- 
nati ; a sympathy equaled only by their indignation 
at the cause of such demand. 



ca:n"ada selected as an asylum. 177 

A meeting expressive of their views and feelings 
on that subject, was convened in the city of Rochester, 
during which, the following preamble and resolutions 
were read and unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, The city of Cincinnati l\a8 again become tlic scone of 
another dreadful mob and bloodshed, where nothing but terror and 
confusion reigned for a number of hours together. 

And Whereas, Our brethren and fellow citizens were left exposed 
to the fury of an ungovernable mob, made up of the base, the igno- 
rant, and Tile, the very dregs of society ; and probably led on by 
slaveholders, who of all men ai'e the most execrable ; while boasting 
of liberty, he tramples on the dearest rights of men and in the 
greatest robber of it on earth. 

Resolved, That we deprecate an appeal to arras by any class of our 
fellow citizens, except in extreme cases, and we think that such a 
case has been presented in the late outrage at Cincinnati. 

Resolved, That when a class of men so far forget the duty they owe 
to God, their fellow men, and their country, as to trample under their 
feet tlie yery laws they have made, and are in duty bound to obey 
and execute, we believe it to be the duty of our brethren and fellow 
citizens, to protect their lives against such lawless mobs ; and if in the 
conflict, any of the mobocrats perish, every good citizen should say 
Amen. 

Resolved, That we do tiady sympathize with the friends of God's 
poor ; the friends of the oppressed, throughout this boasted land of 
liberty, iu the losses they have sustained in consequence of the mob. 

Resolved, That we believe the time is not far distant, when the 
Qveen Oity of the West, shall be redeemed from the hateful influence 
of the slaveholder ; redeemed from that ci-uel prejudice of caste which 
hangs like a mill-stone around the neck of our people ; redeemed 
from all those unequal laws, which have a tendency to make the 

H* 



178 PERSECUTION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE. 

strong stronger and the weak weaker ; redeemed from their false- 
hearted friends, whose sarcastic smile is more to be feared than the 
frowns of an open enemy. 

Resolved, That the untiring exertions of our friends, and the.inde- 
Kcitigable industry of our brethren, are sure guarantees that the State 
of Ohio will not long be what she now is, — a hissing and by-word 
on account of her iniquitous laws ; but that she will rise above every 
naiTow minded prejudice, and raise up hei sable sons and daughters 
and place them on an equality with the rest of her citizens. 

Resolved, That we deeply deplore the loss our friends have sus- 
tained in the destniction of their printing press in Cinciaf ati. 

Resolved, That we as an oppressed people^ fael i o d d.ity to give 
our undivided support to the press and the laborere in our cause. 

Mr. Israel Lewis made his way to Canada, and 
having obtained permission to establish, a colony, he 
bargained with the Canada Company for one township 
of land, for which he agreed to pay the money 
demanded, in a few days, and then returned to Cincin- 
nati, by way of Kochester. Thf poor, persecuted 
colored people, had in the mean ti.z^ made ready for 
their flight from their homes, their native land, and 
from this boasted free Eepublic, to seek a residence in 
the cold and dreary wilds of Canada ; to claim that 
protection from the English government which had 
been denied them in the land of their birth; and 
like the overtasked Israelites, "they went out with 
their wives and their little ones," but with smaller 
possessions. 

During the stay of Mr. Lewis in Kochester, he 



LEAVE EOCHESTER FOR CAXADA. 179 

reported there and elsewhere, tliat eleyen hundred 
persons were then in the dense woods of Canada in a 
state of actual staryation, and called upon the liumane 
everywhere, to assist them in such extreme suffering. 

To me he also told the story of their destitution, 
which affected me deeply. I had at that time just 
made a public profession of my faith in the christian 
religion and my determination to be governed by its 
holy precepts. I felt for the distressed and suffering 
everywhere ; but particularly for those who had fled, 
poor and destitute, from cruel task-masters, choosing 
rather the sufferings of cold and hunger, with hberty, 
than the meager necessities of life and Slavery. I 
concluded to go to Canada and try to do some good ; 
to be of some little service in the great cause of 
humanity. 

As soon as practicable therefore, I left Rochester for 
Toronto, the capital of Upper . Canada, which I found 
quite a thriving town, and containing some fine brick 
buildings, and some I saw were built of mud, dried in 
the sun, wearing rather a poor than pretty appearance. 
At Toronto we hired a team to take us on to Ancaster, 
fifty miles distant. We traveled now through a new 
country; the roads were very bad, and the inhabitants 
few. We, however, reached Ancaster, a small village, 
where we remained one night and next morning pursu- 
ed our journey to the settlement of the poor fugitives 
from Cincinnati. After some hard traveling, we 



\ 
180 PERSECUTION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE. 

finally arrived at the place where we found our 
brethren, it is true, but in quite destitute circum- 
stances. Our fare was poor indeed, but as good as 
they could get. The township was one unbroken 
wilderness when purchased for the colony, and of 
course their lands must be cleared of the heavy timber 
before crops could be got in, hence, there was a great 
deal of destitution and suffering before their harvest 
could ripen after the land was prepared for the seed. 

The day after I arrived at the settlement, which 
consisted of a few rude log cabins, a meeting was 
called to give the township a name. Several were 
suggested, but I at length motioned to name it in 
honor of the great philanthropist, Wilberforce. This 
was carried, and the township from that time has been 
known by that name. It is situated on what is 
known as the Huron Tract, Kent County, London 
District, and is the next north of the township of 
London. Our neighbors on the south, were a com- 
pany of Irish people, who owned the township, and 
on the west side were a township of Welshmen, a 
hardy, industrious and enterprising people. 

In Wilberforce there were no white inhabitants; 
the land appeared level and handsome, with but one 
stream of any magnitude running through it ; this was 
the Oxsable, which was dry during a part of the 
year. All was one vast forest of heavy timber, that 
would compare well with that of Western New York. 



PRODUCE OF THE SETTLEMENT. 181 

Beech, maple, ash, elm, oak, whitewood, bass, balm 
of gilead, &c. The soil was good for corn, wheat, 
rye, oats, and most kinds of the grain and vege- 
tables raised in New York, and was a superior grazing 
country, about fifteen miles from London. This was 
a village containing perhaps thirty dwellings, and two 
hundred inhabitants ; a court-house and jail all under 
one roof, built of stone and plastered ; small doors and 
windows in the style of some of the old English 
castles. London was built in the forks, or between 
the east and west branches of the river Thames; 
hence, you would hear people speak of "going to the 
forks," instead of the village; it is about two hundred 
miles from Buffalo, and the nearest port between the 
two is Port Stanley, thirty miles from London. 

I returned from Canada, where I had seen an 
oppressed people struggling with the hardships and 
privations of a new settlement ; I had seen wretched- 
ness in some places, but by no means sufficient to 
justify the report made by Mr. Lewis, and I deter- 
mined I would remove there with my family, and do 
sU in my power to assist the colored people in 
Canada. 

I had witnessed a disposition on the part of some 
to prevent our brethren from settling in "Wilberforce, 
while the colonizationists made a grand argument of 
it in favor of their wicked policy. All must see that 
it became a necessity with those who fled to Canada 



182 PERSECUnOH OP THE ^COLORED PEOPLE. 

to save themselves from constant abuse or from 
Slavery, and in some instances tlieir lives; and not 
because tbey admitted the justice of one portion of 
American citizens driving another from their native 
land ; nor their right to colonize them anywhere on 
the habitable globe. 

All these things taken into consideration, deter- 
mined me to join them in the enterprize of building 
up an asylum for the oppressed, where our colored 
friends could obtain a home, and where, by their 
industry they could obtain a competency for them- 
selves, besides providing a safe retreat for the weary 
fugitive from Slavery ; guiding by its beacon light of 
liberty, the destitute and oppressed everywhere, to 
home and plenty. 

I felt willing to make any sacrifice in my power to 
serve my Lord, by administering to the necessities of 
my down-trodden countrymen. How far my desire 
has been accomplished God only knows, but I do 
know that the purest motives influenced me, and an 
honest purpose directed my steps in remo^dng to 
Wilberforce. l^ot so with all, however. Some there 
were, Judas-like, who "cared not for the poor; but 
because he was a thief and had the bag, and bare 
what was put therein," made great exertions for a 
time in favor of the settlement. It too soon became 
apparent that to make money was the prominent 
object with by far too great a number of the colonists; 
hence, our future difficulties. 



CHAPTER XX, 



REMOVAL TO CANADA. 

rl880, I closed my business in Rocliester, pre- 
paratory to leaving for Canada. Some of my 
friends thought I had better remain in the States and 
direct emigrants to Wilberforce; while others were 
certain I could benefit them more by going myself at 
once, — ^the latter I had determined to do ; but as the 
time drew near for me to start, an unaccountable 
gloominess and forebodings of evil took possession of 
my mind. Doubts of the practicability of the under- 
taking began to arise, though nothing unfavorable had 
occurred. To the throne of grace, I often bore the 
subject and besought my Heavenly Father to enlighten 
my mind, and direct my steps in. duty's path regarding 
it ; but to confess the truth, I never received any great 
encouragement from that source, though it occupied 
my mind constantly. During the hours of slumber I 
was continually being startled by frightful dreams, — 



184 REMOVAL TO CANADA. 

sometimes I tliouglit I saw a monstrous serpent as 
large as a log stretclied across the road between 
Eochester and tlie Genesee River; at another I 
thought myself in the air so high that I could have a 
full view of the shores of Lake Ontario, and they 
were alive with snakes ; and then I saw a large bird 
like an eagle, rise up out of the water and fly toward 
the south. 

Notwithstanding these omens, I turned my steps 
toward Wilberforce. In May, 1831, we bid adieu to 
our friends in Rochester, and taking passage to 
Buffalo on a canal boat, we arrived in due time, and 
from whence we sailed for Port Stanley, or as it is 
sometimes called, Kettle Creek. It took a week to 
make this trip, which, with favorable wind might have 
been made in two days. The mouth of the creek 
makes a safe harbor at that place, where there is also 
a dock, one ware-house and several farm houses. The 
place was then very wild and picturesque in its appear- 
ance; we did not stop long, however, to admire its 
beauty, but engaged a farmer to take us on to London. 
Ten miles on our way, and we came to a newly laid 
out village, called St. Thomas, from whence we pur- 
sued our journey through a new country to London, 
where we arrived tired and hungry, and put up for 
the night with a Mr.. Faden. There I purchased a 
span of horses for one hundred and fifty dollars, and 
putting them before a new lumber wagon brought on 



AKRIVAL WITH FAMILY AT WILBERFORCE. 185 

from Eochester, we started for our wild and new home 
in good spirits, at which we arrived in good time. 

The colony was comprised of some fourteen or 
fifteen families, and numbered some over fifty persons 
in all. The first business done after my arrival, was 
to appoint a board of managers, to take the general 
oversight of all the public business of the colony. 
The board consisted of seven men, chosen by the 
settlers, and as I was now one of them, they gave me 
the office of President. It was also resolved'-'by the 
board, to send out two agents for the purpose of soli- 
citing aid for the erection of houses for worship, and 
for the maintenance of schools in the colony. 

The Eev. N. Paul was chosen one of their agents, 
and he received from me a power of attorney, 
authorising him to collect funds for the above purposes 
in England, Ireland, and Scotland ; the other, I. Lewis 
was empowered to solicit and collect funds for the 
same objects in the United States. 

Preparations were immediately made to fit Mr. Paul 
out for his mission to England, from whence he was to 
remit any funds he might receive to Arthur Tappan, 
of New York City; first to pay for his outfit, and 
afterwards to the treasurer of the board of managers, 
for the support of schools in Wilberforce. Mr. Paul, 
however, still lacked money to proceed to England, 
and therefore went to Rochester, where he found my 
old and tried fri^d Everard Peck; who was ever 



186 REMOVAL TO CANADA. 

known as the poor man's friend, and tlie support of 
the weak everywliere. To this good man, whose 
memory is still dear to thousands, Mr. Paul showed 
"his power of attorney, at the same time informing him 
of the condition and wants of the colony ; and as was 
ever his wont, when help was needed, his purse, 
(though not one of the heaviest), was at his service. 
Through the kind influence of Mr. Peck, and some of 
the colored friends in that city, a note for seven 
hundred dollars was drawn up, signed by Mr. P. and 
cashed at the Bank, which enabled the agent to 
make the voyage without further delay. He reached 
England, and collected quite large sums of money, but 
entirely failed in the remittance of any sums, either to 
Mr. Tappan or myself. "Wlien the note of seven 
hundred dollars became due, Mr. Peck was obliged 
to pay, and lose it. It was out of my power, nor had 
any of the friends the means to do any thing towards 
paying it, inasmuch as they had assisted Paul all they 
could and got nothing in return. There was one 
thing, however, that the reverend gentleman did do, — 
he wrote me from time to time, to keep me advised of 
the success of his mission, and once informed me that 
he had then twelve hundred dollars on hand ; but not 
a farthing could we get. We wrote him again and 
again, reminding him of the bank debt, and the 
uneasiness of his frienc"'^ on account of it, but all to no 
purpose, — the Atlantic was betwcQU us, and he was 



DISHO>'EST AGEXTS. 187 

making money too easily, to like to be interrupted. 
He never paid one dollar. 

Let us now look after the other agent, who had 
likewise been fitted out, to prosecute his mission in 
the States. That he collected money professedly for 
the assistance of the colony, is too well known to 
require proof, but how much, we could not determine; 
we had reason to believe, however, that he retained 
quite a large sum. He would neither pay it over to 
the board, nor give any account of his proceedings. 
Very little did he ever pay over to the aid of the 
colony as designed. He was frequently written to, 
and every means in our power used, to induce him to 
give some account of his mission, but in vain; he 
would do nothinsr of the kind. Thinsrs went on in 
this way for two years, when it became evident that 
he had no intention of satisfying the minds of the 
settlers ; and farther, that he meant to collect what he 
could, and use it as he pleased. TTe learned too. that 
when abroad, he lived extravagantly, — ^putting up at 
the most expensive hotels, giving parties, and doing 
many things, not only beyond his means, but that 
brought dishonor on the cause and colony. 'When he 
returned to the settlement, he would, if he had funds, 
make presents to his particular friends instead of 
paying it to the treasurer, as he was pledged to do, 
until the majority of the colony became thoroughly 
dL^'gusted with his heartlessness and dishonesty. It 



188 REMOVAL TO CANADA, 

was also perceivable that Lewis and Paul both, were 
getting weary of the solicitations of the board and 
complaints of the settlers, and were anxious to be rid 
of them, and enjoy their ill gotten gains in their own 
way. 

It was never intended by the managers, to send out 
agents to beg money to be divided among the colo- 
nists; but to support schools, &c. Most of the settlers 
were able to work and did so ; and were now getting 
along quite pleasantly. 

Finally, after we had tried every means in vain, to 
get a settlement with Lewis, and to obtain his papers, 
there was nothing more we could do, but to warn the 
public against him, by publishing the facts in the 
case; this we did in various newspapers of Canada 
and in the States. An article inserted in the "Eoches- 
ter Observer," to that effect, was like throwing a 
lighted match into a keg of powder. The excitement 
was intense on the part of Lewis and his friends, who 
were joined by the friends of N. Paul, to destroy, if 
they could, the board of managers. I, however, being 
the only member of that devoted board, who happened 
to be extensively known in the States, their anathemas 
were all poured out on me, and all their energies 
brought forward to insure my destruction. They 
were few in number, it is true, but they had money, 
and I had little to spend in litigation ; besides, Lewis 
was in debt, and his creditors did not like to see liis 



MALIGNITY OF AGENTS. 189 

eans of paying them swept awaj. The Canadians 
emed to think there was no harm done if Lewis did 
)t money out of the "Yankees," as long as it came 
to their hands at last, and so, on tlie whole, they 
ised a tremendous storm, designed, however, to 
(reep nobody away but myself; and I have con-* 
aued to this day, notwithstanding all their artful 
alignity. Nothing, I am persuaded, could have 
ved me from imprisonment at that time, had I not 
)ssessed a high reputation for truth and honesty 
iring my previous sojourn in the colony. 
Lewis had dealt somewhat extensively wdth Mr. 
)nes, who was the principal agent for the Canada 
Dmpany; but failing to fulfil his agreement, regard- 
g the payment for a large tract of land, it so 
[[asperated Mr. Jones, that he declared he would 
ive nothing to do with any of the colored people; 
id so when I wanted to buy a lot of land, he would 
Dt sell it to me because he so despised Lewis. 
How much harm can one wicked man do ! and yet 
cannot be right to judge the character of a whole 
ass or community by that of one person. 



CHAP TEE XXI. 



ROUGHING IT IN THE WILDS OF CANADA. 

THE "Canada Company," of wliicli I have so 
frequently spoken, was an association of wealtliy 
gentlemen, residing in England; something like the 
East India Company, especially regarding the title of 
lands. They had sent on their agent and purchased a 
large tract of land known as the "Huron Tract," 
extending from London to Lake Huron, where they 
laid out a village, named Goderich, sixty miles distant 
from Wilberforce. With this company, Mr. Lewis 
had contracted for a township of land, as agent for the 
Cincinnati refugees ; but failing to meet the demand, 
the company kindly extended the time of payment ; 
but when that time also passed without receiving any 
thing from Lewis, the general agent, Mr. Jones 
became so indignant, that he utterly refused to sell a 
foot of land to any colored person whatever. This 



LIBERALITY OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 191 

proved to be one of the greatest detriments to tlie 
prosperity of the colony it ever met. 

The Society of Friends at this time, however, with 
commendable sympathy for the oppressed and abused 
colored residents of Cincinnati, and with their prover- 
bial liberality, raised a sum of money suf&cient to 
purchase eight hundred acres of land of the Canada 
Company for the benefit of the colony. The funds 
were placed in the hands of one of their number, 
Frederick Stover, who went to Canada as their agent, 
purchased the land, and settled colored people upon it, 
which comprised nearly all of the Wilberforce settle- 
ment. This occurred before I settled in Canada, and 
the consequence was, when I desired to purchase land, 
none could be obtained. At the time, however, of 
which I am speaking, the Canada Company were 
constructing a road through their possessions, some 
seventy miles in length, and the principal contractor, 
Mr. Ingersoll, had agreed to take land in part pay- 
ment for his services on the road. In accordance with 
this agreement, he accepted one lot of land situated 
within the Wilberforce settlement, which he agreed to 
sell to Mr. Lewis for twenty-five dollars. Mr. Lewis, 
knowing that I was anxious to purchase, accepted the 
offer, and then came and showed the contract, oflPering 
it to me on condition that I paid him the twenty-five 
dollars which he had just paid Mr. Ingersoll. This I 
was glad to dp ; I paid the demand ; took an assign- 



192 ROUGHING IT IN THE WILDS OF CANADA. ' 

ment on the back of the receipt, and passed into 
immediate possession of the land. He at the same 
time requested me to take up a note of twenty-five 
dollars for him; which I did, on his promising to 
refund the money in a short time. 

I commenced laboring on the wild land I had pur- 
chased; cleared some ten acres, which in consequence 
of its being so heavily timbered, cost me at least 
twenty -five dollars per acre ; built a house and barn — 
supposing myself its legal possessor, — until I chanced 
to meet Mr. IngersoU, who informed me that Mr. 
Jones had refused to sell him the land to be disposed 
of to a colored person; that he had duly informed 
Lewis of the fact, and had returned to him the twenty- 
five dollars received. Not a word of this, had Lewis 
communicated to me, though he knew I was making 
expensive improvements, in the faith that I was its 
only owner. Instead of atoning for the wrong already 
done me, he made it the basis of a deeper injury. 

After one year's residence in TVilberforce, I found 
it necessary to return to Eochester to settle some 
unfinished business; and when on my way thither I 
stopped at London, where I found Lewis, who had 
not only preceded me but had taken out a capias^ for 
forty pounds currency. I was therefore obliged to get 
bail for my appearance at court, after which I pursued 
my journey. 



RETUEX TO ROCHESTER ON BUSINESS. 193 

On mj arrival in Eocliester, I found business at a 
stand ; and the community in a state of excitement 
and alarm, on account of that fell destroyer, the 
cholera. This was its first visit to the United States, 
and the fearful havoc it was making, spread terror and 
consternation throughout the land. I returned to 
Canada; but found on my arrival at London, that 
*'the pestilence that walketh at noon-day," had pre- 
ceded me, and taken from that village my friend, Mr. 
Ingersoll, with several others. So gTeat had been the 
alarm, that instead of my appearing at court as I 
expected to do, I found it adjourned, and the judge 
returned to his home. 

I hastened on to Wilberforce, which had fortunately 
escaped the fearful scourge, with terrible apprehen- 
sions. 

Having a little spare time, I went out with my rifle, 
in search of deer ; but soon came upon a large wolf, 
which I wounded with the first shot; he, however, 
sprang aside and was gone. On looking about for 
him I espied another ! — reloading my rifle, I fired, and 
he fell dead at my feet, while my dog at the same 
time I heard barking furiously. Having disjDatched 
this second intruder, I saw that my dog had the first 
one, entangled in the branches of a fallen tree. I 
searched for my balls, and was vexed to find that I 
had lefb them at home. In this predicament I cut 
with my knife, a knot from a beech limb, put it in my 
I 



19-4 BOUGHIXG IT I2s^ THE WILDS OF C.^ADA. 

rifle, and took deadly aim at the enraged wolf. The 
wooden ball struck him between the eyes and killed 
him on the spot. 

The two dead animals, with their skins, I sold for 
nine dollars and a half, — making pretty good wages 
for a few hours labor. 

Hunting was very generally pursued by the settlers, 
with great earnestness and considerable skill. The 
forest abounded with deer, wolves, bears, and other 
wild animals. Bears were plenty, and very trouble- 
some because so dangerously tame. One day, our 
children had built for themselves a play-house, a few 
rods from the door, and were enjoying their play 
when they were called in to dinner. A moment after, 
I observed one of the settlers gazing intently at the 
play-house; I called to know what so attracted his 
attention, and he informed me that an old bear, with 
three cubs, had just then taken j^ossession of the play- 
house. And sure enough there they were ! knocking 
about among the dishes, and munching the crumbs of 
bread which the children had left. The man was sup- 
pHed with a loaded rifle and urged to shoot them, but 
he begged to be excused from a pitched battle with so 
many; and the bears leisurely took their departure for 
the woods without molestation. The play-house, 
however, was soon deserted by the children after 
these unbidden guests had made so free with it ; and 
we were ourselves somewhat alarmed for the safety 



VISITED BY BEARS AT ^^LBERFORCE. 195 



of our cliildren, wlio were accustomed to roam in the 
edge of the forest, and make swings of the luxuriant 
grape vines. 

But such incidents are common in a new country, 
surrounded as we were by a dense wilderness. * 



OHAPTEE XXII 



NAEROW ESCAPE OF A SMUGGLER. 

FROM tlie time I first settled in Wilberforce, my 
house had ever been open to travelers and 
strangers ; but a conversation I happened to overhear, 
led me to take a course different from what I had at 
first intended. I was at a public house about twenty 
miles from home, when I heard the landlord advising 
his guest to eat heartily, for, said he, "you will find 
nothing more worthy of your attention, until you 
reach "Wilberforce. When you arrive at that settle- 
ment, inquire for A. Steward, from the States, and he 
will give you a meal fit for a prince." I began to 
reflect on the subject and concluded, inasmuch as 
people would send company to me, it would be better 
to make some preparation for entertaining them. I had 
plenty of furniture, and all I needed was a larger 
supply of food, to commence keeping a tavern. Thia 



A STEANGE VISITOR. 197 

?vas easily obtained, and I opened a public bouse 
wbicli was well patronized. 

One day while I was absent from borne, a man 

drove to the door tbe finest span of horses, I think I 

ever saw, — black as jet, with proudly arched necks, 

and glossy tails that nearly swept the ground. The 

gentleman sprang from his carriage, bounded through 

the open door, and in the most excited manner, began 

to inquire "who owns this establishment? When 

will he return ? Can I be accommodated ? Can I see 

your barn?" &c. The stable boy took him to the 

barn, from whence he soon returned ; his face flushed, 

and breathing so heavily as to be heard all through 

the apartment ; trembling so violently that he could 

scarcely speak at all, — but made out to inquire, "if 

there was not some place besides the barn where he 

could put his horses ? " He was told that there was a 

email shelter built for cows, in bad weather, and the 

next moment he was examining it. In a very short 

time he had his horses and carriage stowed away in 

the cow-shed. He acted like a crazy man ; but when 

he had secured his horses, he re-entered the house and 

frankly apologized for his conduct. " I may as well 

tell you the truth," said he; "I am suspected of 

smuggling goods ; a reward is offered for my arrest, 

and the constables are on my track, in pursuit of me. 

My name is Cannouse, and I am from M , in 

Ontario County." 



198. NARROW ESCAPE OF A SMUGGLER. 

But perl^ps tliej can not prove yon gniltj of 
smuggling, said I, in an after conversation. 

"All," said lie, "there is for me no such hope or 
probability; I have been engaged for the last few 
months in the sale of dress-goods and broad-cloths, 
and my exposure and flight is the consequence of my 
own folly. While in the village of St. Catharines, I 
took a young girl out to ride, after she had engaged 
to accompany another yonng fellow, which of course 
offended him ; and he being too well posted up on my 
affairs, went directly to the custom house officer and 
informed against me. I was sitting in the parlor, 
perfectly at ease, when a young man, a relative of the 
young lady in question, burst into the room, shouting, 
* Fly ! fly ! for yonr life I The officers are upon you ! ' 
And I did fly ; with barely time to reach the woods, 
for as I sprang through the back door, the officers 
entered through the front door. My horses were my 
first consideration ; they had been raised by my father, 
and should I lose them, I should never dare to meet 
him again. In my hasty flight, I engaged the young 
man to conceal them till night, and then to drive them 
to a certain place where I would meet him. This he 
did, and I kept on my flight until I came to the house 
of a friend, where I halted to make inquiries. The 
gentleman had just come from London, and had 
seen handbills at every conspicuous place, describing 
me and my horses. I asked him what I should do ? 



THE SMUGGLER PURSUED. 199 

He said, 'you are not safe a moment; there is no 
ho}5e but in flight ; avoid the main road, and get to 
the colony if you can; if you succeed, go to A. 
Steward ; he is an upright man and will never betray 
you for money. ^ And here lam: if I am arrested, 
six months imprisonment, three hundred dollars fine, 
and the forfeiture of my father's valuable and favorite 
horses, will be my portion. I have had no regular 
meal for the last three days, and my head aches 
violently." 

We gave him some refreshment, and conducted him 
to a room, assuring him that he should have it to 
himself All remained quiet until midnight, when a 
man knocked cautiously at our door. I opened it 
myself, and a gentleman, looking carefully about the 
place, inquired, 

"Are you full?" 

"]Sro,"saidI. 

" Have you any travelers here to night ? " 

" Yes." 

"How many?" 

"Two." 

" Where are they ? " 

" In this room; walk in, sir." 

He took the light from my hand, and stepping 
lightly up to a bed, where two travelers were quietly 
sleeping, he closely examined their faces. He soon 
returned the light, and without further inquiry retired 



200 XAP.ro W ESCAPE OF A SMUGGLER. 

from the liouse. Wlien lii3 companions camo np, I 
distinctly heard him tell them that the smuggler was 
'not there. 

''You may be mistaken," said the other, "and Ave 
must search the barn for his horses." 

This they did thoroughly, after procuring a lantern 
.but without finding any thing to reward their diligent 
search ; and they finally drove off. 

When they had gone, Cannouse groaned most 
bitterly, and trembled from head to foot at the 
thought of his narrow escape. The next day an 
officer rode up to where the children were playing, 
with a handbill which he read, and inquired if they 
had seen a person bearing that description, pass that 
dayf They answered negatively, and he rode on. 
The poor frightened Cannouse stayed with us a week; 
and nearly every day during the time, the house and 
bam were searched for him. The children kept 
watch, and when they saw any one coming they 
would let him know, in time to take himself and 
horses into a thicket near by. "When he thought 
pursuit was over, he started to leave ; but when, in a 
half hour after, a posse of men drove up to my door, 
flourishing their handbills, I thought it all over with 
Cannouse. I told them that he was not there ; but 
they chose to have another search, and when they 
found nothing, the officer sprang into his carriage, 
exclaiming, "come on, boys; we'll soon have him 



THE SMUGGLER MAKES GOOD HIS ESCAPE. 201 

now ; we have tracked him here, and he can't be far 
off." 

Cannouse had left us, feeling quite secure ; but he 
had traveled but a short distance, when he observed a 
horse shoe loose, and to get it fastened he drove down 
to a blacksmith's shop, which happened to stand at 
the foot of a hill ; and between it and the highway 
there had been left standing a clump of trees which 
nearly hid it from yiew. While there, getting his 
horse shod, the officers passed him unobserved, and 
he finally escaped. 

Some time after, a gentleman called on us who had 
seen Qannouse in Michigan, where he .was doing well. 
He had succeeded in reaching Detroit, from whence 
he passed safely to his home ; but probably learned a 
lesson not to be forgotten. He was a talented young 
man — one who would have felt deeply the disgrace 
of unprisonment, — and it was indeed a pleasure to me 
to do what I could, to effect his release from an 
unen\4able position. I would never have betrayed 
him ; but happily I was not asked directly for him, 
until he was gone from my house and protection. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



NARRATIVE OF TWO FUGITIVES FROM VIRGINIA. 

THE settlers in Wilberforce, were in general, in- 
dustrious and thrifty farmers : they cleared their 
land, sowed grain, planted orchards, raised cattle, and 
in short, showed to the world that they were in no 
way inferior to the white population, when given an 
equal chance with them. In proof of this let me say, 
that it was uniformly the practice of persons traveling 
from London to Goderich, to remain in our settlement 
over night, in preference to going on to find entertain- 
ment among their own class of people. And we 
beheve that the whites are bound to admit, that the 
experiment of the Wilberforce colony proves that the 
colored man can not only take care of himself, but is 
capable of improvement; as industrious and intelli- 
gent as themselves, when the yoke is taken from off 
their necks, and a chance given them to exercise their 
abilities. True, many of them had just escaped from 



APPEAEANCE OF A SLAVE DEALER. 203 

crucx task-masters; ignorant of almost every thing 
but tlie lashj — but the air of freedom so invigorated 
and put new life into their weary bodies, that they 
soon became intelligent and thrifty. 

Among the settlers might be gathered many a 
thrilling narrative, of suffering and hair-breadth 
escapes from the slave-land,' — one of which I will 
tell as 'twas told to me. 

In a small rude cabin, belonging to one of the large 
plantations in Yirginia, sat at a late hour of the night, 
an afEicted slave-man and his devoted wife, sad and 
weeping. At length the husband repeated what he 
before had been saying : 

" I tell you, wife, we must flee from this place, with- 
out delay. Oh, I cannot endure the idea of seeing 
you sold for the Southern market, to say nothing of 
myself; and we shall most likely be separated, which 
I can't bear I Oh, Eosa, the thought distracts me, — ■ 
I can't bear it ! " 

" Are you sure," said Eosa, " that master thinks of 
such a frightful doom for us? " 

" Oh yes, I know it; I' heard master to-day making 
a bargain with the slave dealer that has been hanging 
about here so long; and when it was finished, I heard 
him reading over the list, and our names, wife, are 
the first on it." 

" Oh, dear I " sobbed the wife, " we shall certainly 



204 NARRATIVE OF TWO FUGITIVES. 

be retaken and whipped to death; or else we shall 
starve in the wilderness I Oh, it is very hard to be 
compelled to leave all our friends and the old planta- 
tion where we were born ! " 

"Yes; it is both hard and unjust," said Joe, and an 
indignant frown contracted his brow, — "here is our 
birth-place, and here, for forty years have I toiled 
early and late to enrich my master ; and you, my poor 
wife, a few years less ; and now we are to be sold, 
separated, and all without a choice of our own. We 
must go, Eosa. If we die, let us die together ! " 

"It shall be as you say, Joe," she replied, "but it 
frightens me to think of the hardships of the way, 
and the danger of being recaptured." 

" Courage, wife : no fate can be worse than the one 
designed for us ; and we have no time to lose To- 
morrow night, then, we must make the first effort to 
gain our liberty, and leave all that is dear to us except 
each other ! " And they retired to rest, but not to 
sleep. 

The following night was very dark ; and as soon as 
all was quiet on the plantation, they stole out of their 
cabin and stealthily crept over the ground until they 
reached the highway ; and then, guided only by the 
north star, they made their way to the nearest woods. 
So fearful had they been of being suspected, that they 
took no provision of any kind with them. All night 



TRIALS AND HUXGER IN THE WILDERNESS. 205 

they plunged forward tlirougli the tangled thicket and 
under-brush, sorrounded by thick darkness, glancing 
now and then upward to their only light, 

"Star of the North! though night winds drift the fleecy 
drapery of the sky, 

BetTreen thy lamp and thee, I lift, yea, lift with hope 
my sleepless eye." 

"When day dawned they threw their weary bodies 
on the ground, famished and thirsty, and waited for 
the darkness to again conceal them while they pursued 
their journey. The second day of their flight, the 
pain of hunger became almost beyond endurance. 
They found a few roots which relieved them a little ; 
but frequently they lost their way, and becoming be- 
wildered, knew not which way to go ; they pushed on, 
however, determined to keep as far from their pursuers 
as possible. Their shoes were soon worn out; but 
bare-footed, bare-headed, and famishing with hunger, 
they pressed forward, until the fourth day, when they 
found themselves too weak to proceed furtlier. Hope, 
the anchor of the soul, had failed them! They 
were starving in a dense forest ! No track or path 
could they find, and. even had they seen a human 
being, they would have been more terrified than at 
the sis^ht of a wild beast ! 

Poor Eosa, could go no farther — her strength was 
all gone — and as her emaciated husband laid her on 



206 NARRATIVE OF TWO FUGITIVES. 

tbe cold earth, lie exclaimed, ''Oh, dear God! 7777^5^ 
we, after all our efforts, starve in this dark wilder- 
ness ! Beside his fainting wife, he finally stretched 
himself, sheltered only by a few bushes, and tried to 
compose himself to die! but resting a few moments 
revived him, and he aroused himself, to make one 
more effort for life ! " Stay you here, wife, and I will 
try once more to find the highway ; it cannot be far 
from here ; and if I am taken, I will submit to my fate 
without a struggle ; we can but die." So saying, he 
left her, and began to reconnoitre the country aroimd 
them. Much sooner than he expected he emerged 
from the wood, and not far distant he saw a house in 
the direction from whence he came ; being, however, 
as most of the slaves are, superstitious, he thought it 
would be a bad omen to turn backward, and so 
continued to look about him. It seemed, he said, that 
some unseen power held him, for though starving as 
he was, he could not take a step in that direction ; and 
at last as he turned around, to his great joy, he saw 
another dwelling a little way off, and toward that he 
hastened his now lightened footsteps. With a palpi- 
tating heart, he approached the door and knocked 
cautiously. The man of the house opened it, and as 
soon as he saw him, he said, "You are a fugitive slave, 
but be not alarmed, come in ; no harm shall befall you 
here ; I shall not inquire from whence you came ; it is 
enough for me to know that you are a human being 



THE GOOD SAMAKITAN. 207 

in distress ; consider me your friend, and let me know 
your wants." 

"Bread! Oh, for a morsal of bread!" said the 
famished creature, while his hitherto wild and sunken 
eyes, began to distil grateful tears. The "good 
Samaritan" stepped to another apartment and brought 
him a piece of bread, which he expected to see him 
devour at once, but instead, he looked at it wistfully, 
literally devouring it with his eyes ; turned it over 
and over, and at last stammered out, " my good master, 
without a piece of bread for my poor starving wife, I 
can never swallow this, tempting as it is." 

" Poor man," said his benefactor, " can it be that 
you have a wife with you, wretched as yourself? " 
He brought out a loaf of bread, some cheese and meat, 
and while the fugitive was preparing to return, the 
kind gentleman said, "I am glad you came to me; 
had you called at the house you first saw, you would 
have been betrayed, and immediately arrested. You 
must remember," he continued, "that you are young 
and valuable slaves, and that your master will make 
every effort in his power to find you, especially since 
he has made a sale of you. To-day and to-night, 
remain in the woods, and the next morning you 
may come to me, if all is quiet ; should I see danger 
approaching you, I will warn you of it by the crack 
my rifle. Go now, to your poor wife, and listen for 
the signal of danger ; if you hear none, come to me at 



208 NAERATIYE OF TWO FUGITIVES. 

the appointed time." He returned, and after feeding 
his helpless Eosa, she revived, and soon felt quite 
comfortable and grateful. 

When the morning came for them to leave their 
retreat, they listened intently, but hearing nothing, 
Joe started for the residence of his friend. He had 
been gone but a short time, when his wife, who lay in 
the bushes, thought she heard the tramp of horses,- — 
she crept nearer the highway, and peeping through 
the bush — Oh, horror ! what was her consternation 
and sickening fear, to find herself gazing upon the 
well-known features of her old master, and two of 
his neighbors, all armed to the teeth ! Her heart 
seemed to stand still, and the blood to chill in her 
veins. Had she been discovered she would have been 
an easy prey, for she declared that she could not move 
a step. In the meantime lier husband had got about 
half way to the residence of his preserver, when his 
quick ear detected the sound made by the feet of 
horses, and as he stopped to listen more intently, the 
sharp crack of a rifle sent him bounding back to his 
concealment in the forest. 

The party of horsemen rode on to the dwelling of 
the kind hearted gentleman, and inquired whether he 
had seen any fugitive slaves pass that way. 

''I saw," said he, "a man and woman passing 
rapidly along the road, but do not know whether 
they were fugitives, as I did not see their faces." The 



ARRIVAL AND SETTLEMENT IK CINCINNATI. 209 

liuman blood-liound, thanked the gentleman for the 
information, and immediately set out in pursuit; but, 
just as the informant had intended, in a direction 
opposite to that the slaves had taken. That night, Joe 
and Rosa \T.sited the house of their benefactor, where 
they were supplied with clothing and as much food 
as they could carry ; and next day they went on their 
way rejoicing. They settled in Cincinnati, where they 
lived happily, until the mob drove them with others, 
to the Wilberforce settlement, where they are in no 
danger of the auction block, or of a Southern market; 
and are as much devoted to each other as ever. 



CHAPTEE XXIY 



PLEASANT EE-UNION OF OLD AND TRIED FKIENDS. 

IT is well known to those who have assisted in 
clearing land in a new country, that bears, who 
are not Jews, are very troublesome, and levy a heavy 
tax on the settlers, to supply themselves with pork — 
their favorite food. One old bear in particular, had 
for a long time annoyed the colonists, by robbing their 
hog-stys almost every night. We failed in all our 
plans to destroy his life, until a woman saw him one 
day, walking at ease through the settlement. A half 
dozen of us gave chase immediately, and came up 
with him after traveling two miles. So anxious was I 
to kill him, that I fired at first sight and missed him, 
which gave us another two miles chase. When, how- 
ever, we came up, he was seated on a branch of a tree, 
leisurely surveying us and the dogs, with great com- 
placency. The contents of my rifle brought him to the 
ground, and stirred his blood for battle. One blow 



VISITED BY WHITE HEX IK DISGUISE. 211 

from Ms powerful paw, sent mj fine greylioTind some 
yards distant, sprawling upon the ground, and when 
he renewed the attack. Bruin met him with extended 
jaws, taking and munching his head in his mouth. 
Mj rifle was now reloaded, and the second shot killed 
him on the spot. We tied his legs together, and lifting 
him on a pole, marched in triumph into the settle- 
ment, where guns were discharged and cheers given, 
m approbation of our success. 

One winter's evening we had drawn closely around 
the blazing fire, for the air was piercing cold without, 
and the snow four feet deep on a level. Now and 
then, a traveler might be seen on snow-shoes; but 
though our cabiu was situated on the king's highway, 
we seldom saw company on such a night as this. 
While the wind whistled, and the snow drifted about 
our dwelling, we piled the wood higher in our ample 
fire-place, and seated ourselves again, to resume the 
conversation, when I was startled by a loud and 
furious knocking at the door. I opened it to what I 
supposed to be tliree Indians. Their costume was 
that of the red man ; but the voice of him who 
addressed me was not that of an Indian. " Can you 
keep three poor devils here to night?" said he, and 
when I made further inquiry, he repeated the same 
question; "we can sleep," he continued, "on the soft 
fiide of a board ; only give us poor devils a shelter." 

I told him we were not accustomed to turn away 



212 EE-UNIOK OF OLD AND TRIED FRIENDS. 

any one on sucli a night ; that they were welcome to 
come in ; and they were soon seated around our large 
and cheerful fire. 

They had laid aside their snow-shoes and knap- 
sacks, and the heat of the fire soon made their 
blankets uncomfortable ; but as one of them made a 
move to throw it off, another was heard to whisper, 
" wait a little ; we are among strangers, you know; so 
do not make a display of yourself." The fellow drew 
his blanket about him; but we had heard and seen 
enough to awaken curiosity, if not suspicion. In 
passing out of the room soon after, I heard one of 
these pretended Indians say to his companion, " I 
know these folks are from the States, for I smell 
coffee." When they finally sat down to table, and saw 
silver upon it, they cast surprised and knowing 
glances at each other, all of which we closely observ- 
ed, and were convinced, that they were not red men 
of the forest, but belonged to that race who had so 
long looked haughtily down upon the colored people ; 
that the least exhibition of comfort, or show of refine- 
ment astonished them beyond measure. 

In the meantime, my wife had whispered to me 
that she was sure that the principal speaker was no 

other than the aristocratic Mr. G , of Canan- 

daigua. I could not believe it ; I could not recognize 
in that savage costume, one who had been bred in 
affluence, and " the star" of genteel society. But my 



THE NEW VISITOKS RECOGNIZED. 213 

wife soon develoj^ed tlie affair to our mutual satisfac- 
tion: G , on taking from lier a cup of coffee, 

remarked, ''this looks good; and I have had no good 
coffee since I left mj mother's house." 

"Does your mother still reside in C ?" 

asked Mrs. Steward. 

"My mother I my mother I what do you know of 
my mother ! " said he, looking sharply at her ; but 
observing that they were recognized, they began to 
laugh, and we had a hearty congratulation all round ; 

while ^ Gr , starting up from table, exclaimed, 

"Come, boys, off with this disguise; we are among 
friends now." 

Our Indian guests, now appeared in costume more 
like "Broadway dandies," than savages. Dressed in 
the finest cloth, with gold chains and repeaters ; and 
all that constituted the toilet of a gentleman. After 
tea they requested to dry some costly furs, which they 
took from their knapsacks and hung around the fire. 
The following day they took their leave, with many 
apologies and explanations, regarding their appearance 
and conduct. They were in the wilderness, they said, 
grading for very valuable furs; they had money, 
jewelry and rich goods, which they had taken that 
method to conceal. 

During all this time, there had been another visitor 
in the house, who was sitting in a corner, absorbed in 
writing. Our mock Indians had noticed him, and not 



214 RE-tJKloN OF OLD AND TRIED FRIEX^DS 

knowing who lie was, expressed a determination " to 
quiz that deaf old devil," after supper. We all 
seated ourselves around the fire, and our Canandaigua 
friends, though no longer savages, had not forgotten 
the silent man in the corner ; they began to question 
him, and he aroused himself for conversation; nor 
was it long before they forgot their design to quiz 
him, and found themselves charmed listeners to the 
brilliant conversation, of that world-renowned cham- 
pion of humanity, Benjamin Lundy, for he it was. 

On this particular evening, he gave us a sketch of 
his journey to Hayti ; to accompany there and settle 
some emancipated slaves ; which I thought very inter- 
esting, and as I have never seen it in print I will here 
relate it, as near as I can, in his own words : 

In the State of Maryland, there lived a slaveholder, 
the proprietor of some sixty slaves, and being some- 
what advanced in years, he determined to free them, 
in accordance with the laws of that State, which 
required that they be sent out of it. 

He had thought the matter over, but being unde- 
cided where to send them, he sent for Mr. L^andy to 
assist him in his proposed plan ; who was only too 
glad to comply with a request calculated to carry out 
his own' plans of philanthropy and equal rights. 

When he had listened to the suggestions and ex- 

'pressed desires of the planter, he offered his arguments 

in favor of the West India Islands; and it was 



narrative' op benjamin lundy. 215 

decided to send tliem to Hajti, as their future place of 
residence. 

Six weeks were allowed for preparations ; tlien Mr. 
Lundy was to return and take charge of tliem on the 
voyage, and see them settled in their new homes. 

When the appointed time arrived, Mr. Lundy was 
there to accompany them on board a vessel bound for 
Hayti ; on which was furnished as comfortable quar- 
ters, as the kindness of their conscientious master and 
his own benevolent heart could suggest. When all 
was ready, the Christian master came on board, to 
take leave of those faithful servants, — many of whom 
had served him from their childhood, and all of whom 
he had bound to his heart by kindness and Christian 
benevolence. It was a sad parting; not because the 
Slavics did not love Hberty, but because they appreci- 
ated their master's kind forbearance, and solicitude for 
their future welfare. He had ever been a himiane and 
indulgent master ; one who lightened the burthen of 
the poor slave, all in his power. A moment's reflection 
will show, that it is invariably this conscientious kind 
of slaveholders, who are induced to emancipate their 
slaves ; and not the avaricious, cruel tyrant, who neither 
fears God nor regards his fellow man. 

The master of the slaves had kindly informed them 
of his intentions, — of the probable length of the 
v^oyage, and the unavoidable sickness they would 
experience, &c. ; but now, they were gazing up into 



216 EE- UNION OF OLD AND TRIED FI^IENDS. 

his kind face for the last time, as he knelt in prayer, 
commending that numerous flock — raised on his own 
plantation — to the care and protection of Almighty 
God, beseeching Him to protect them in the storm 
and dangers of the ocean ; to guide them through this 
life, and save them in the world to come ; until the 
sobs and cries of the poor slaves drowned his utter- 
ance. He at length took his final leave of them, and 
of Mr. Lundy; and the ship sailed immediately. 
They, however, met storms and adverse winds, which 
detained them; and then the poor, ignorant slaves 
began to believe what they had before suspected : that 
this was only some wicked plan of Mr. Lundy's, laid 
to entice them away from a kind master, and to plunge 
them into some dreadful degradation and suffering. 
" Master" had not told them of the adverse winds, and 
they were certain that some mischief was intended ; 
they grew sullen and disobedient; and notwithstanding 
the kindness of Mr. Lundy, they murmured and com- 
plained, until his kind heart sank within him ; still he 
pursued the even tenor of his way, trusting in God 
for deliverance. He watched over them in sickness, 
and administered to all their wants; but his tender 
solicitude for their health and comfort, only excited 
suspicion, and increased their ungrateful ill humor. 

One pleasant evening, Mr. Lundy paced the deck 
in deep thought. He was sad, and well nigh hopeless. 
He had seen enough in the fierce look and sullen 



NARRATIVE CONTINUED. 217 

scowl; and had heard enough of the bitterness, and 
threatening anger of the negroes, to know that a storm 
was gathering, which must soon burst in all its wild 
furj over his devoted head. He was a small, feeble 
man, compared with those who watched his every 
movement, and gnashed their teeth upon him so 
fiercely. None but the Almighty could save him 
now; and to Him who "rides upon the wings of the 
wind, and maketh the clouds His chariot," he drew 
near in fervent prayer; after which he retired in peace 
and confidence to his berth. During the night, a fine 
breeze sprang up; and when he went on deck the 
next morning, they were in sight of the luxuriant 
shore of Hayti! The officers of the island boarded 
the ship ; but their language was unintelligible to the 
negroes, who still looked daggers at every one who 
spoke. They landed; but the fearful, and ungrateful 
slaves continued sullen and forbidding. Mr. Lundy 
left them, however, and went into the country, where 
he selected their future residencie; and made every 
preparation for their comfort and convenience in his 
power; saw them conveyed to their neat, pleasant 
homes, and all happily settled. This work was accom- 
plished; and he merely called to bid adieu to his 
ungrateful charge, when he found that one of the 
slaves had been appointed to speak to him, in behalf 
of the whole number, and confess how deeply they 
had wronged him. "While they were conversing, the 
K 



218 EE-UNION OF OLD AND TRIED FRIENDS. 

others gathered around, with tears and prayers for 
forgiveness; and finally fell at his feet, imploring 
pardon for themselves, and blessings on the kind, 
patient and humane Benjamin Lnndy. He hurried 
from the affecting scene, and soon after returned to 
America. 

Thus that cold evening passed more pleasantly 
away in our rude cabin ; and our Canandaigua 
gentlemen, after an agreeable acquaintance, and plea- 
sant chat with Mr. Lundy, retired for the night — not 
like savages, but like gentlemen as they were ; and I 
doubt not, with a more exalted opinion of " the deaf 
old devil in the comer " 



CHAPTER XXV 



PRIYATE LOSSES AKD PEIYATE DIFFICULTIES. 

SOON after settling in Wilberforce, I found tliat 
tHe rumor I had heard in the States, concerning 
the refusal to sell land to colored persons, was literally 
correct, and my farm being too small to yield a sup- 
port for my family, and knowing it would be useless 
to apply for more land, I engaged to carry packages 
for different merchants in the adjoining villages, as 
well as to and from the settlement. Possessing a pair 
of excellent horses and a good wagon, I found it a 
profitable business, and the only one I could well do, 
to eke out the proceeds of my farm, and meet my 
expenses. 

One day as I was returning from the village, one of 
my horses was taken suddenly ill. I took him to 
a tavern near by, and as I could discover no cause for 
his illness, I concluded to leave him a few days, sup 



220 PRIVATE LOSSES AND DIFFICULTIES. 

posing rest would soon restore liim. I accordingly 
hired another horse, and returned to the colony. In 
a day or two after, I collected my packages as usual, 
and started on my route, designing to leave the hired 
horse and take my own ; but when I arrived at the 
tavern, I found some Indians engaged in taking off 
the hide and shoes of my poor, dead horse. This was 
indeed, a great loss to me ; but I consoled myself with 
the thought that I had one good horse left, yet he 
would hardly be sufficient to accomplish alone, the 
labor I had engaged to perform ; nor had I the means 
to spare, to purchase another. I therefore hired one, 
and commenced business again, with the determination 
to make up my loss by renewed diligence and perse- 
verance, I siarted in good spirits ; but had proceeded 
but a few miles, when my remaining horse, which I 
had supposed perfectly sound, reeled and fell in the 
harness ! And before I could relieve him of it, my 
noble animal and faithful servant, had breathed^ his 
last ! Without a struggle or a movement he lay life- 
less on the cold earth. I was sad. I deplored the 
loss of my good, and valuable team ; but more the 
mystery and suspicion that hung over the event. I 
returned home and sat down to devise some plan of 
procedure. What could I do ? Half the means of 
our support had been suddenly and mysteriously 
snatched from us. What could I do next? While 
thus ruminating, I arose to answer a summons at the 



TEMPTATION EESISTED. 221 

door, and who should enter but Mr. B. Paul, a brother 
to our foreign agent, wlio had so long absented 
himself from our house, that I was indeed surprised 
to see him at this time. He, however, seated himself, 
with great apparent concern for my recent loss, which 
he soon made the subject of conversation and the 
object of his visit. 

"There has been," said he, "a great deal of un- 
pleasant feeling, and injudicious speaking on both 
sides, for which I am heartily sorry. The colony is 
too weak to sustain a division of feelings ; and now, 
that your recent losses have left you in a far less 
favorable condition to sustain yourself and family, I 
have called to make a settlement of our former diffi- 
culties, and to offer you two hundred and fifty dollars 
out of the collections for the colony." 

I saw through the plan at once, sgid considered it 
only a bribe, to prevent my exposing the iniquity of 
others. Should I consent to take a part of the ill- 
gotten spoils, with what confidence could I attempt to 
stay the hand of the spoiler. I wanted money very 
much, it is true ; but after a moment's reflection, not 
enough to sanction the manner in which it had been 
obtained ; and though I confess, the offer presented to 
me a strong temptation, I am thankful that I was 
enabled to resist it. I refused to accept the money; 
and after sending away the tempter and his offered 



222 PRIVATE LOSSES AND DIFFICULTIES. 

gain, I felt my heart lighter, and my conscience more 
peaceful than is often the lot of sinful, erring man in 
this world of trial and conflict; and yet I could but 
feel that the mystery in which the death of my horses 
was involved, was partially at least, explained. 



CHAPTER XXYI. 



INCIDENTS AND PECULIAEITIES OF THE INDIANS. 

DURIITGr our residence in Canada, we were often 
visited by the Indians, which, gave us an oppor- 
tunity to learn their character, habits and disposition ; 
and some incidents illustrative of the peculiarities of 
that abused people, I will here mention. 

I recollect one bitter cold night, about eleven 
o'clock, I happened to awake, and looking out toward 
the fire, I was surprised to see standing there, erect 
and quiet, a tall, brawny Indian, wrapped in his 
blanket ; his long hunting knife and tomahawk dang- 
ling from his belt ; and his rifle in his hand. Had he 
been in his own wigwam, he could not have looked 
about him with more satisfaction and independence. I 
instantly sprang to my feet, and demanded his errand. 

*'Me lost in the woods, and me come to stay all 
night," was his grave reply. 

" Then," said I, '* give me your weapons, and I will 



224 IXDIA^" IXCIDEXTS AND PECULIARITIES. 

make no objection." He disarmed himself, and gave 
his weapons to me, with an air of haughty disdain for 
my fears. I j)nt them in a place of safety and then 
prepared his bed, which was nothing more than the 
iSopr, where they choose to sleep, with their head to 
the fire. My offer of anything different from this he 
proudly resented as an insult to his powers of endur- 
ance, and would say, "beds for pale faces and women; 
hard board for Indians." He threw himself down, 
drew his blanket about him, and was soon sleeping 
soundly. As soon as the day began to dawn, he was 
up, called for his arms, and after thanking me in the 
brief Indian style of politeness, departed for the 
forest. He had found our doors all fastened, save a low 
back door, through which he entered, passing through 
a back room so full of miscellaneous articles, that it 
was difficult to go through it in the day time without 
upsetting something; but the Indian understood all 
this, he made no noise, nor would he have spoken at 
all, had I not awakened; and yet, he would have 
scorned to injure any one beneath the roof that gave 
him shelter, unless he had been intoxicated. 

One sabbath afternoon, one of my children was 
sitting in the door, when a tall, emaciated Indian came 
up and said, " Will my little lady please to give me 
a drink of water?" While she went for it, I invited 
him to a seat within. There was something^ diornified 
and commanding in his appearance, and something in 



VISIT FROM ONE OF TECUMSEH'S BRAVES. 225 

Lis voice and countenance, tliat won my confidence 
and respect at once. He remained in the place some 
time, and I learned his history. 

In his younger days he had been a great warrior; 
and even now, when recounting, as he often did, the 
scenes of the battle field, his eye would burn with 
savage fire, lighting up his whole countenance with 
the fiercest kind of bravery, and often with a hideous 
yell that would startle our very souls, he would burst 
from the room and bound over the fields and forest, 
with the fleetness of a deer — making the woods ring 
with his frightful war-cry, until the blood seemed 
ready to curdle in our veins. He had also been 
one of the famous Tecumseh's braves ; and had stood 
by him when he fell on the fifth of October, 1813. 
This old brave, whenever he called the name of 
Tecumseh, bowed his head reverently; and would 
often try to. tell us how very deeply they mourned 
when it could no longer be doubted that the brave 
heart of Tecumseh, brother of the celebrated Wabash 
prophet, had ceased to beat. 

'' Had an arrow pierced the sun and brought it to 
my feet," said the old warrior, " I could not have been 
more astounded than at the fall of Tecumseh. Then 
he told us that once, after a great and victorious battle, 
Tecumseh, in his war paint and feathers, stood in the 
midst of his braves, when a httle pale faced girl made 
her way weeping to him and said, "My mother is 



226 INDIAN INCIDENTS AND PEC CLIAEITIES. 

very ill, and your men are abusing her, and refuse to 
go away." "Never," said tlie Indian, "did I see a 
frown so terrible on the face of Tecumseh, as at that 
moment; when he with one hand clutched his toma- 
hawk, and with the other led the little girl to the 
scene of riot. He approached the unruly savages 
with uplifted tomahawk, its edge glittering like silver, 
and with one shout of ' begone I ' they scattered as 
though a thunderbolt had fallen in their midst." 

But the old warrior at Wilberforce fought no more 
battles, except in imagination those of the past. After 
peace was declared he bou.ght a valuable piece of land, 
with the intention of spending the remainder of his 
life more quietly ; but unfortunately there lived not 
far fiom him a man who had once been the possessor 
of that farm, and had lost it in some way, and was 
now in reduced circumstances. 

He was both envious and vicious ; and because he 
could not himself buy the land, he was determined 
that the old Indian should not have it. After having 
tiied many ways to get it from him, he finally com- 
plained of him, for fighting for the British and against 
the country where he now resided. This was success- 
ful ; he was arrested and thrown into prison, and 
without a trial, removed from one prison to another, 
until he, with several others, was sent South to be tried 
as traitors. While on the way, the keeper of tliis 
Indian wished to call on his mother, who lived in a 



WRONGS OF THE RED MAN. 227 

little cottage by the roadside, to bid her farewell. She 
was an aged woman, and when her son left her to join 
his companions, she followed him to the door weeping, 
wringing her hands in great distress, and imploring 
the widow's God to protect her only son. She had had 
four; all of whom went forth, with an American 
mother's blessing, to fight in defence of their country; 
and this one alone, returned alive from the field of 
battle. Now as he took his final departure for the 
South, she clasped her hands, raised her tearful eyes to 
heaven, and while large drops rolled over her wrinkled 
cheeks, she cried, " Oh, God, protect my only one, and 
return him to me in safety, ere I die." This scene, the 
imprisoned, and as some supposed, heartless Indian, 
watched with interest ; no part of it escaped his atten- 
tion ; but they passed on, and safely reached Detroit. 
The prisoners were conducted to a hotel and secured 
for the night ; our Indian hero being consigned to an 
attic, which they supposed a safe place for him. , There 
happened to be on that night, a company of showmen 
stopping at that hotel, and exhibiting wax- work ; 
among the rest, was a figure of General Brock, who 
fell at Queenston Heights, and a costly cloak of fur, 
worn by the General previous to his death. Notliing 
of this escaped the eagle-eye and quick ear of the 
Indian. When all was quiet in the hotel, he com- 
menced operations, for he had made up his mind to 
leave, which with the red man is paramount to an 



228 INDIAN INCIDENTS AND PECULIARITIES. 

accomplislunent of his design. He found no great 
difficulty in removing the window of his lofty apart- 
ment, out of which he clambered, and with the agility 
of a squirrel and the caution of a cat, he sprang for 
the conductor and on it he slid to the ground. He was 
now free to go where he pleased ; but he had heard 
something about the cloak of Gen. Brock ; he knew 
too, that the friends of the General had offered fifty 
guineas for it, and now he would just convey it to 
them. 

With the sagacity of his race, he surveyed the hotel, 
and determined the exact location of the show-room. 
Stealthily and noiselessly, he entered it; found the 
cloak — took it and departed, chuckhng at his good 
fortune. As he was creeping out of the apartment 
with his booty, a thought struck him, which not only 
arrested his footsteps, but nearly paralized his whole 
being. Would not his keeper be made to answer, and 
perhaps to suffer for his escape and theft ? Of course 
he would. '' Then in the darkness I saw again," said 
the old brave, "that old pale-faced mother, weeping 
for the loss of her only son,'' when he immediately 
returned the cloak to its place, and with far more 
difficulty than in his descent, he succeeded in reaching 
his attic prison, where he laid himself down, muttering 
to himself, "not yet, — ^poor old pale-face got but 
one." 

They took him to Virginia, where, instead of a trial, 



INDIAN STRATAGEM. 229 

thej gave him about the same liberty they do their 
slaves. He staid one winter; but when the spring 
opened, the fire of the red man took possession of him, 
and when sent to the forest to chop wood, he took a 
bee-line for his former residence. But what was he to 
do for food ? With a rifle, he could live happily in 
the woods, but he had none ; so after considering the 
matter, he said to himself, "Me must get a rifle," and 
instantly started for the highway. The first cabin he 
saw, he entered in great apparent excitement, and told 
the woman of the house, that he had seen a "big 
deer in the woods, and wanted a rifle to shoot it. 
When you hear my gun," he said, "then you come 
and get big deer." She gave him her husband's 
excellent rifle and a few bullets ; he looked at them, 
and said he must have more, for " it was a big deer ;" 
so she gave him the bullet-mould and a piece of lead, 
with which he departed, after repeating his former 
injunction, to come when she heard the rifle ; but, said 
he, " she no hear it yet." 

He at length arrived at his own farm, from which 
he had been so cruelly driven, and concealed himself 
behind a log in sight of his own house, to watch the 
inmates. He soon learned that it was occupied by the 
man who had persecuted him in order to obtain it, his 
wife and one child. All day until midnight, he 
watched them from his hiding place, then assuming 
all the savage ferocity of his nature, and giving him- 



230 IXDLIX IXCIDEXTS AXD PECrLIAEITIES. ' 

self the most friglitfiil appearance possible, lie entered 
the house, and noiselessly passed to their sleeping 
room, where he placed himself before them with a 
long knife in his hand. Having assumed this frightful 
attitude, he commanded them in a voice of thunder, 
to get up and give him some supper. They were 
awake now. Oh, horror! what a sight for a guilty 
man, and a timid woman ! " Me come to kill you ! " 
said the Indian, as he watched their blanched cheeks 
and quivering lips. They tottered about on their 
trembling hmbs to get everything he asked for, im- 
ploring him for God's sake to take all, but spare their 
lives. " Me will have scalps," he answered fiercely; 
but when he had eaten all he desired, he adjusted his 
blanket, and putting on a savage look, he remarked as 
if to himself, " Me go now get my men and kill him, 
kill he wife, and kill he baby I " and left the house for 
his post of observation. 

The fiightened inmates lost no time, but hastily 
collecting some provisions, fled to the frontier, and 
were never heard of afterwards. 

The Indian immediately took possession of his own 
and quite an addition left by the former tenants. 

While the kind-hearted old Indian repeated to me 
the story of his wrongs, it reminded me of the injustice 
practised on myself, and the colored race generally. 
Does a colored man by hard labor and patient in- 
dustry, acquire a good location, a fine farm, and 



PESTTNT OF THE COLORED MAN. 231 

comfortable dwelling, lie is almost sure to be looked 
upon by tbe white man, as an usurper of his riglits 
and territory ; a robber of what he himself should 
possess, and too often does wrong the colored man 
out of, — ^yet, I am happy to acknowledge many hon- 
orable exceptions. 

I have often wondered, when looking at the rem- 
nant of that once powerful race, whether the black 
man would become extinct and his race die out, as 
have the red men of the forest ; whether they would 
wither in the presence of the enterprising Anglo-Saxon 
as have the natives of this country. But now I have 
no such wondering inquiries to make ; being persuaded 
that the colored man has yet a prominent part to act 
in this highly -favored Eepubhc, — of what description 
the future must determine. 



CHAPTEE XXYII 



OUR DIFFICULTIES VTITK ISEAEL LETVIS. 

BEIXGr under tlie necessity of referring again to tlie 
difficulties existing in the Wilberforce colony, 
I shall here introduce a circular, published in 'New 
York city, which "will give the reader an understand- 
ing of the real cause of our embarrassments, and the 
character of our agent, Israel Lewis. 

CIRCULAR 

I^ew York, May 9th, 1836. 

The committee of colored citizens of the citv of Xev^ York, as 
servants of the public, sincerely regret the necessity of bringing the 
\rithin subject before tbe public. Their duty to God, to society, and 
to themselves, only actuates them in tbis matter. 

The fact that many individuals in different sections of the country, 
have long suspected the integrity of Israel Lewis, but possessing no 
authentic documentary evidence, they have been prevented from 



ISRAEL LEWIS DISH0XE5TY DENOUyCED. 2 S3 

making an effort, to connteract his too successful attempts and those 
of his agents, in the collection of funds from the public, has induceo 
us to transmit this circular. 

Theodore S. Weight, David Ruggles, 
Pktee Ogdex, John Sta>s, 

Thohas Dohtxixg, William P. Johxsox, 

George Potts, William Hamiltox, 

Charles B. Ray, SAMrEL E. Corxish. 



ISRAEL LEWIS. 

WUberforce, U. C, March 2Sth, 1836. 

The board of managers of the Wilberforce settlement, met and 
passed unanimously the following resolutions — Present, Austin Stew- 
ard, Philip Harris, Peter Butler, William Bell, John Whitehead, 
Samuel Peters. 

Resolved, 1st That we deeply regret the manner in which our 
friends in the States have been imposed upon by Israel Lewis ; and 
that we hereby inform them, as a board of managers or otherwise, 
that we have recoived less than one hundred dollars of all the money 
borrowed and collected in the States. 

Resolved, 2d. That although we have not received one hundred 
dollars from said Lewis, yet, when we shall have received the funds 
collected by our agent, the Rev. Nathan Paul, in England, we will 
refund as far as our abilities will allow and our friends may require, 
the money contributed for our supposed benefit, by them in the 
States. 

Resolved, 3d. That we tender our sincere thanks to our beloved 
friends, Arthur Tappan and others, who have taken such deep inter- 
est in the welfare of oui little colony. 

Resolved, 4th. That the foregoing resolutions bo signed by the 



234: OUR DIFFICULTIES WITH ISRAEL LEWIS. 

"vrliole board, and se. t to the States to be published in the New Ycrh 

Observer and other papers. 

AUSTIN STEWARD, Pre&ideni, 
PETER BUTLER, Tre<isurer, 
JOHN HALMES, Secretary. 



Philip Harris, 
William Bell, 
JoHx Whitehead, 
Samuel Peters, 



Managers, 



Neva York, April 25<A, 1836. 

At a public meeting of the colored citizens of New York city, 
held in Phoenix Hall, Thomas L. Jennings in the Chair, and Charles 
B. Ray, Secretary, the following resolutions were passed unani- 
mously : 

Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be tendered to the Rev. 
Samuel E. Cornish, for the able and satisfactory report of his mission 
to Upper Canada, especially to the Wilberforce settlement. 

Resolved, That this meeting deem it their imperative duty, to 
announce to the public, that in view of facts before them, Israel 
Lewis* has abused their confidence, wasted their benevolence, and 
forfeited all claim to their countenance and respect. 

Resolved, That a committee of ten, be appointed to give publicity 

to the foregoing resolutions ; also, to the communication from the 

managers of the Wilberforce settlement, as they may deem necessary 

in the case. 

THOMAS L. JENNINGS, Chairman, 

CHARLES B. RAY, Secretary. 

It will now appear tliat I was not the only unfortu- 
nate individual wlio had difficultj with Mr. Lewis. 

•It necessarily follows that the public should withhold their money from his sub- 
ordinate agents. 



MR. TAPPAN EXPOSES LEWIS. 235 

Mr. Arthur Tappan made known through the press, 
about this time, that Israel Lewis was not a man to be 
fully relied upon in his statements regarding the Wil- 
berforce colony ; and also, if money was placed in his 
hands for the benefit of the sick and destitute among 
the settlers, it would be doubtful whether it was faith- 
fully apphed according to the wishes of the donors. 

For this plain statement of facts, Mr. Lewis com- 
menced a suit against Mr. Tappan, for defamation of 
character; laying the damages at the round sum of 
ten thousand dollars. It appeared that Lewis valued 
his reputation highly now that he had elevated 
himself sufiiciently to commence a suit against one of 
the best and most respectable gentlemen in New York 
city ; a whole souled abolitionist withal ; one who had 
suffered his name to be cast out as evil, on account of 
his devotion to the colored man's cause — ^both of the 
enslaved and free ; one who has, moreover, seen his 
own dwelling entered by an infuriated and pro-slavery 
mob ; his expensive furniture thrown into the street as 
fuel for the torch of the black man's foe; and, amid 
the crackling flame which consumed it, to hear the vile 
vociferations of his base persecutors, whose only 
accusation was his defence of the colored man. This 
noble hearted, christian philanthropist, who took 
"joyfully the spoiling of his goods" for the cau^e of 
the oppressed, was the chosen victim of Lewis' wrath 
and violent vituperation ; and that too, where he was 



236 OUR DIFFICULTIES ^ITH ISRAEL LET\13. 

well known as a 'most honorable, humane gentleman; 
and all for naming facts which were quite generally 
known already. 

Lewis returned to Wilberforce, flushed and swag- 
gering with the idea of making his fortune in this 
speculation of a law-suit against Mr. Tappan; and to 
remove all obstacles, he sent a man to me, to say that 
if I would publish nothing, and would abandon the 
interests of the colonists, he would give me a hand- 
some sum of money. I soon gave him to understand 
that he had applied to the wrong person for anything 
of that kind ; and he then laid a plan to accomplish 
by fraud and perjury, what he had failed to do by 
bribery. 

I have before mentioned the fact of my having 
taken up a note of twenty-five dollars for Mr. Lewis, 
on condition that he would soon refund the money. I 
did it as a favor, and kept the note in my jDOssession, 
until about a year afterward, when I sued him to 
recover my just due on the note. We had then began 
to differ in our public business, which led to other 
differences in our transaction of both public and 
private matters relating to the colony. He of course 
gave bail for his appearance at court, and it ran along 
for some time until he found he could not bribe me to 
enter into his interests, and then for the first time, he 
declared that I had stolen the note ! And finally suc- 
ceeded in getting me indicted before the grand jury 1 



BITTER PERSECUTION BY LEWIS. 237 

In tliis I suppose Lewis and liis confederates had 
two objects: first, to get rid of me; secondly, that they 
might have a chance to account for my continued 
hostility, by saying that it arose in consequence of ^ 
private quarrel, and not for any true interest I had in 
their collecting money deceptively. 

Lewis appeared so bent on my destruction, that he 
forgot it was in my power to show how I came by the 
-note. The Court of King's Bench met, but in conse- 
quence of the cholera, was adjourned, and of course, 
the ca^e must lie over until another year. 

When the time for the trial drew near, I was, in the 
midst of my preparations to attend it, counselled and 
advised by different persons to flee from the country, 
which I had labored so hard and so conscientiously to 
benefit, and received in return nothing but detraction 
and slander. But conscious of my innocence, I de- 
clared I would not leave; I knew I had committed no 
crime; I had ^dolated no law of the land, — and I 
would do nothing to imply guilt. He who hath 
formed the heart, knoweth its intent and purpose, and 
to Him I felt willing to commit my cause. True, the 
court might convict, imprison, and transport me away 
from my helpless family of five small children; if so, 
I was determined they should punish an innocent 
man. IsTevertheless, it was a dark time; I was not 
only saddened and perplexed, but my spirit was 
grieved, and I felt like one " wounded in the house of 



238 OUR DIFFICULTIES WITH ISRAEL LEWIS. 

his friends," — ready to cry out, " had it been an enemy 
I could have borne it," but to be arraigned, for the 
first time in my life, as a criminal^ by one of the very- 
people I had spent my substance to benefit, was 
extremely trying. Guiltless as I knew myself to be, 
still, I was aware that many incidents had transpired, 
which my enemies could and would construe to my 
disadvantage ; moreover, Lewis had money, which he 
would freely distribute to gain his point right or 
wrong, and to get me out of his way. 

In due time the trial came on, and I was to be tried 
for theft! JjGwis had reported all through the settle- 
ment that on a certain time I had called at his 
house, and from a bundle of papers which his wife 
showed me, I had purloined the note, which had 
caused me so much trouble. To prove this it was 
necessary to get his wife to corroborate the statement. 
This was not an easy matter. Mrs. Lewis, indignant 
and distressed by her husband's unkindness, had left 
him and taken up her abode in the family of a hospi- 
table Englishman. After Lewis had been sent out as 
an agent for the colony, finding himself possessed of 
sufficient funds to cut a swell, he associated and was 
made a great deal of, by both ladies and gentlemen in 
high stations of life ; the consequence of which was, 
he looked now with disdain upon his faithful, but 
illiterate wife, who like himself had been born a slave, 
and bred on a Southern plantation ; and who had with 



lewis' SHAilEFUL TREATirE^^' OF HIS VTLVE. 239 

him escaped from the cruel task-master, enduring with 
him the hardships and dangers of the flying fugitive. 

jSTow her assistance was necessary to carry forward 
hk plans, and he endeavored in various ways to 
induce her to return, but in vain. When he sent 
messengers to inform her how sorry he felt for his past 
abuse, she said she feared it was only some wicked 
plot to entice her away from the peaceable home she 
had found. Lewis saw that he must de^nse some 
other method to obtain her evidence. He therefore 
called on the brother of the Englishman in whose 
family Mrs. Lewis was, and in a threatening manner 
told him that he uliderstood his brother was harboring 
his wife, and that he intended to make him pay dear 
for it. The brother, to save trouble, said he would 
assist him to get his wife, and that night conducted 
Lewis to her residence. No better proof can be given 
that Mrs. Lewis possessed the true heart of a woman, 
than that the moment her husband made humble con- 
cessions, and promised to love and protect her hence- 
forth, she forgave him all his past infidelity and 
neglect, and looked with hope to a brighter future. In 
return Lewis presented her with a note, telling her to 
take it to a certain person and present it, and he 
would give her twenty dollars on it. This would, he 
doubtless thought, leave her in his power. 

As Mrs. Lewis could not read, the unsuspecting wife 
presented the paper all in good faith. The gentleman 



OUR DIFFICULTIES WITH ISRAEL LEWIS. 

looked at her sliar}3lj, suspiciously, — and then asked 
her, if she was not aware that she was presenting hini 
a paper completely worthless ! The poor woman was 
mortified and astonished; and instead of returning to 
her husband, fled to Wilberforoe, and called at our 
house. Knowing how disastrous to me would be her 
false statement, and ignorant of her state of mind, I 
asked her if she had come to assist Mr. Lewis _by 
swearing against me. I saw at once, that she had not 
yet been informed of her husband's design. 

"Swear against you, Mr. Steward!" said she. "I 
know nothing to swear that would injure you ; I have 
always known you as an honest, upright man, and you 
need not fear my turning against an innocent person, 
for the benefit of one I know to be gTiilty. Nor 
would I have left my place, had I known what I now 
do." So all help and fear was ended in that quarter. 

When at length the appointed morning arrived, I 
arose early, but with a saddened heart. I looked upon 
my wife and helpless family, reflecting that possibly 
this might be the last time we should all assemble 
around the breakfast table in our hitherto quiet home, 
and I could scarcely refraiu from weeping. I, how- 
ever, took my leave, and a lad with me, to bring back 
a message of the result, if the court found sufficient 
cause to detain me for trial. But when I found that I 
must be tried, I felt too unhappy to make others so, 
and kept out of the lad's way. He returned without 



BITTER PERSECUTION AGAIN FOILED. 241 

a message ; and I took mj seat in the prisoner's box. 
I had just taken a letter out of the post oflQ.ce, from 
Eochester, containing recommendations and attesta- 
tions from the first men in the city, of mj good 
character, which relieved my feelings somewhat; 
nevertheless, my heart was. heav}^, and especially 
when, soon after I took my seat, a trajo-door was 
opened and a murderer was brought up and seated by 
my side ! 

Chief Justice Eobinson, made liis appearance in 
great pomp — di-essed in the English court style — then 
the crier, in a shrill voice, announced the opening of 
the court, and finished by exclaiming, " God save the 
King ! " His lordship then called the attention of the 
jury to the law of the land; particularly to that 
portion relating to their present duty; and the grand 
jury presented me to the court, for feloniously taking 
a certain promissory note from the house of Israel 
Lewis. The King's Attorney had but one witness, 
and that was Lewis. He was called to the stand, 
permitted to relate his story, and retire without any 
cross-examination on the part of my Attorney; but 
that gentleman called up three respectable white men, 
all of whom swore that they would not believe Israel 
Lewis under oath ! Then submitted the case to the 
jury without remark or comment, and the jury, with- 
out leaving their seats, brought in a verdict of " XOT 
GUILTY." Thus ended my first and last trial for theft! 
L 



242 OUR DIFFICULTIES WITH ISRAEL LEWIS. 

Oh, how my very soul revolted at the thought of 
being thus accused; but now that I stood justified 
before God and my fellow-men, I felt relieved and 
grateful ; nor could I feel anything but pity for Lewis, 
who, like Ilaman, had been so industriously engaged 
in erecting "a gallows fifty cubits high" for me, but 
found liimself dangling upon it. lie raved like a 
madman, clutched the arm of the Judge and demanded 
a new trial, but he shook him off with contempt and 
indignation, as though he had been a viper. In his 
wild fury and reckless determination to destroy my 
character, he had cast a foul stain upon his own, never 
to be effaced. I had felt bound to preserve my repu- 
tation when unjustly assailed, but it had been to me a 
painful necessity to throw a fellow-being into the 
unenviable and disgraceful attitude in which Lewis 
now stood ; and yet, he would not, and did not yield 
the point, notwithstanding his ignominious defeat. 

He very soon began to gather his forces for another 
attack upon me, and followed the same direction for 
his accusation, — the land purchase. 

The reader will recollect without further repetition, 
that as I could purchase no land of the Canada Com 
pany, because of their indignation against Lewis, I 
was glad to accept of the contract he had made with 
Mr. Ingersoll, for lot number four in the colony ; thai 
I paid the sum demanded, and took his assignment on 
the back of the contract, and as we then were on good 



AGAIN VICTORIOUS OVER WICKED PLOTTING. 2-13 

tenns, it never occurred to me tliat a witness was 
necessary to attest to the transaction. But after his 
fiiilure to prove me a thief,- his next eifort was to 
convict me of forgery I It will be remembered that 
Lewis after selling out to me, returned the contract to 
Mr. Ingersoll, and that I had lost by the means, the 
land, and at least five hundred dollars' worth of im- 
provements. Then I brought a suit against Lewis, to 
recover the money I had paid him for the contract; 
and then it was that he asserted and attempted to 
prove, that I had forged the assignment, and therefore, 
had no just claim on him for the amount paid. But 
in tliis, as in the other case, he met a defeat and made 
an entire failure. I recovered all that I claimed, which, 
was only my just due. One would suppose that after 
so many unsuccessful attempts to ruin me, he would 
have left me alone, — ^but not so with Lewis : he had 
the ambition of a Bonaparte; and doubtless had he 
possessed the advantages of an education, instead of 
having been born and bred i slave, he might, like an 
Alexander or Napoleon, have astonished the world 
with his deeds of daring. I am, however, no ad- 
mirer of what the world call " great men," — one 
humble, self-sacrificing christian, like Benjamin Lun- 
dy, has far greater claim on my respect and reverence. 
Lewis, failing in his second attack, backed up as he 
had been in all his wicked course, by a friend wearing 
the sacred garb of a minister of the gospel, cooled off, 



24A OUR D1FFICFLTIE3 ^ITH ISRAEL LEWIS. 

and it became evident to all, tliat lie was meditating 
some different mode of warfare. To tlii^ concealed 
confederate, I must attach great blame, on account of 
the influence his station and superior learning gave 
liim, not only over Mr. Lewis, but the colonists gener- 
ally, and which should have been exerted for the good 
of all, in truth and honesty. 



CHAPTER XXYIII. 



w 



DESPERATIo:^;^ of a fugitive slaye. 

E had as jet received no funds from our 
foreign agent, IS". Paul, and the board of 
managers had resolved to send a man after him. An 
Englishman and a white man named Isell, would 
gladly undertake the mission, lea^ang his wife and five 
children among the settlers. Again was I under the 
necessity of returning to Xew York, to obtain the 
funds required to send out Mr. Xell after our agent in 
England. 

The night before I left home, I had a singrular 
dream which I will briefly relate. I dreamed of jour- 
neying on a boat to Albany, and of stopping at a 
house to take tea. Several persons, I thought, were 
at the table, and as a cup of tea was handed me, I 
saw a woman slyly drop something into it. I, how- 
ever, drank the tea, and dreamed that it made me 
very sick. 



246 DESPERATION OF A FUGITIVE SLATE. 

I found it difficult to drive from my mind tli 
xmpleasant impression this dream liad made upon it, 
but finally succeeded in doing so, attributing it to tbe 
many and malicious threatenings whicK bad been 
made by Lewis and bis associates. Tbey bad boldly 
asserted, that '' if I went to the States, I would never 
return alive," and several other threats equally malig- 
nant. I, however, started with Mr. Nell for Eochester, 
where we made an effort to raise money to aid in 
defraying the expenses of the voyage, and succeeded 
in collecting about a hundred dollars. From thence 
we passed on to Albany, where we fell in company 
with a number of Mr. Paul's friends, who appeared 
to be terribly indignant, and accused me of coming 
there to expose their friends, — Paul and Lewis. We 
had some warm words and unpleasant conversation, 
after which they left me very unceremoniously, and 
appeared to be very angry. A short time after, one of 
them returned, and in the most friendly manner in- 
vited me to his house to tea. I was glad of an oppor- 
tunity to show that I harbored no unpleasant feelings 
toward them, and immediately accompanied him 
home. The moment that we were all seated at the 
table, an unpleasant suspicion flashed through my 
mind. The table, the company — all seemed famihar 
to me, and connected with some unpleasant occurrence 
which I could not then recall. But when the lady of 
the house poured out a cup of t^a, and another was 



DEATH PREFEERED TO SLAVERY. 247 

about to pass it, I heard her wliisper, '^I intended that 
for Mr. Steward," mj dream for the first time, flashed 
through my mind, with all the vivid distinctness of a 
real incident. I endeavored to drive it from mj 
thoughts, and did so. Pshaw I I said to myself; I 
will not be suspicious nor whimsical, and I swallowed 
the tea; then took my leave for the steamboat, on our 
way to New York city. 

When we had passed a few miles out of Albany, 
the boat hove to, and there came on board four men — 
one of the number a colored man. The white men 
repaired to their state-rooms, leaving the colored man 
on deck, after the boat had returned to the channel. 
He attracted my attention, by his dejected appearance 
and apparent hopeless despair. He was, I judged, 
about forty years of age ; his clothing coarse and very 
ragged; and the most friendless, sorrowful looking 
being I ever saw. He spake to no one, but silently 
paced the deck; his breast heaving with inaudible 
sighs ; his brow contracted with a most terrible frown ; 
his eyes dreamily fastened on the floor, and he ap- 
peared to be considering on some hopeless undertaking. 
I watched him attentively, as I walked to and fro on 
the same deck, and could clearly discover that some 
fearful conflict was taking place in his mind ; but as I 
afterwards repassed him he looked up with a happy, 
patient smile, that lighted up his whole countenance, 
which seemed to say plainly, I see a way of escape, 



248 DESPERATION OF A FUGITIVE SLAVE. 

and have decided on mj course of action. His whole 
appearance was changed; his heart that before had 
beat so wildlj was quiet now as the broad bosom of 
the Hudson, and he gazed after me with a look of 
calm deliberation, indicative of a settled, but desperate 
purjDose. I walked hastily forward and turned 
around, when, Oh, my God ! what a sight was there I 
Holding still the dripping knife, with which he 
had cut his throat ! and while his life-blood oozed 
from the gaping wound and flowed over his tattered 
garments to the deck, the same exultant smile beamed 
on his ghastly features ! 

The history of the poor, dejected creature was now 
revealed: he had escaped from his cruel task-master 
in Maryland; but in the midst of his security and 
delightful enjoyment, he had been overtaken by the 
human blood-hound, and returned to his avaricious 
and tyrannical master, now conducting him back to a 
life of Slavery, to which he rightly thought death was 
far preferable. 

The horrors of slave life, which he had so long 
endured, arose in all their hideous deformity in his 
mind, hence the conflict of feeling which I had 
observed, — and hence the change in his w^hole appear- 
ance, when he had resolved to endure a momentary 
pain, and escape a life-long scene of unrequited toil 
and degradation. 

There happened to be on the boat at the time, several 




*' I walked hastily forward and turned around^ when, Oh, my God! what a sight 
was there ! He still held the dripping knife, with which he had ctrt his throat." 



page 248- 



VISIT NEW YORK CITY. 249 

companies of citizen soldiers, who, shocked by the awful 
spectacle, expressed their decided abhorrence of the in- 
stitution of Slavery, declaring that it was not for such 
peculiar villainy, that their fathers fought and bled on 
the battle field. So determined were they in their 
indignation ; so loudly demanded they a cessation of 
such occurrences on board our boats, and the soil of 
a free State, that the slaveholders became greatly 
alarmed, and with all possible dispatch they hurriedly 
dragged the poor bleeding slave into a closet^ and 
securely locked the door ; nor have I ever been able 
to learn his final doom. Whether the kindly messen- 
ger of death released him from the clutches of the 
man-stealer, or whether he recovered to serve his 
brutal master, I have never been informed. 

After this exciting scene had passed, I began to 
realize that I was feeling quite ill ; an unusual load 
seemed to oppress my stomach, and by the time we 
had reached Kew York city, I was exceedingly dis- 
tressed. I hastened to a boarding house, kept by a 
colored woman, who did everything in her power to 
relieve me ; but I grew worse until I thought in 
reality, I must die. The lady supposed I was dying 
of cholera, sent to Brooklyn after Mr. Nell ; but 
having previously administered an emetic, I began to 
feel better; and when I had finally emptied my 
stomach of its contents, tea and all, by vomiting, I felt 
into a profound sleep, from which I awoke greatly 
L* 



250 DESPEKATION OF A FUGITIVE SLAVE. 

relieved. The Mndness of that lady I shall not soon 
forget. She had a house full of boarders, who would 
have fled instantly, had they known that, as she sup- 
posed, I was suffering from cholera; and instead of 
sending me to the hospital, as she might have done, 
she kept all quiet until it was over, doing all she could 
for my relief and comfort; yet, it was a scene of 
distress which I hope may never be repeated. 

On the following morning, I saw in the city papers, 
"A Card," inserted by the owner of the poor slave 
on board the steamboat, informing the public that he 
was returning South with a fugitive slave, who, when 
arrested, evinced great willingness to return ; who had 
confessed also, that he had done very wrong in leaving 
his master, for which he was sorry, — ^but he supposed 
that the abolitionists had been tampering with him. 
That was all ! ISTot a word about his attempt to take 
his life ! Oh no, he merely wished to allay the excite- 
ment, that the horrid deed had produced on the minds 
of those present. 

I was indignant at the publication of such a de- 
liberate falsehood, and immediately wrote and pubhsh- 
ed that I too was on board the same boat with the 
fugitive; that I had witnessed an exhibition of his 
willingness to return to Slavery, by seeing him cut his 
throat, and lay on the deck wallowing in his blood ; 
that the scene had so excited the sympathies of the 
soldiers present, that his owner had been obliged to 
hurry him out of their sight, &c. 



SEND A SECOND MESSENGER TO ENGLAND. 251 

Wlien this statement appeared in the newspapers, it 
so exasperated the friends of the slaveholder, that I 
was advised to flee from the city, lest I might be 
visited with personal violence; but I assured my 
advisers that it was only the wicked who " flee when 
no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion." 
I therefore commenced the business that brought me 
to that city. Messrs. Bloss, Kell, and myself, made an 
effort, and raised between three and four hundred 
dollars for the purpose of sending Mr. Kell after Kev. 
N. Paul. 

Most of the funds collected, we gave to Mr. Nell, 
who sailed from New York, and arrived safely in 
England, just as N. Paul was boarding a vessel to 
return to New York. 

Had Mr. Nell acted honorably, or in accordance 
with his instructions, he would have returned with 
the agent ; but he remained in England, and for aught 
I know is there yet. He was sent expressly after Mr. 
Paul, and when he left that kingdom, Nell's mission 
was ended. He proved himself less worthy of confi- 
dence than the agent, for he did return when sent for, 
and he did account for the money he had collected, 
though he retained it all ; but Mr. Nell accounted for 
nothing of the kind ; and if he has ever returned^ I 
have not seen him. Mr. N. Paul arrived in New 
York in the fall of 1834, and remained there through 
the winter, to the great disappointment and vexation 



2o2 DESPERATION OF A FUGITIVE SLAVE. 

of the colonists. I wrote him concerning our condition 
and wants, hoping it wonld induce him to visit us 
immediately ; but he had married while in England, 
an. English ladj, who had accompanied him to Kew 
York, where they were now living ; nor did he 
appear to be in any haste about giving an account of 
himself to the board of managers who had employed 
him. 



CHAPTEE XXIX 



A NARROW ESCAPE FROM 'SYY EXE:inES. 

DUEIXG my absence in Kew York city, Lewis 
and his confederates were prophesying that I 
would never trouble them more, and shaking their 
heads quite ominously at the happy riddance. One 
day, our hired man entered the house and inquired 
of my wife, when I was expected home. She told 
him she did not know, having received no intelligence 
from me. He assured her that a letter had been 
received by some one in the colony; that he had 
seen it, and had heard Mr. Lewis speak of conveying 
it to her, — ^but as it did not come, she gave it up, sup- 
posing some mistake had been made. I had, however, 
written, naming the time when she might expect me ; 
but no letter of mine reached her, during my long ab- 
sence, for which she could not account. A short time 
before that specified for my return, a woman, whose 
husband was an associate of Mr. Lewis, came to my 



254: A NARROW ESCAPE FROM ilY ENEMIES. 

house, and urged my wife "to leave word at the 
village of London, to have Mr. Steward detained 
there, should he arrive toward evening, and by no 
means allow him to start for the colony after dark." 
My flimily had so often been alarmed by such warn- 
ings, and had so frequently been annoyed by the 
violent threatenings of Lewis, that they ceased to 
regard them, and paid little attention to this one. 

I arrived at London on the day I had appointed for 
my return, but was detained there until a late hour ; 
feeling anxious, however, to get home that night, 
supposing that I was expected, — I therefore hired a 
horse to ride tho remaining fifteen miles to the settle- 
ment. 

The road from London to Wilberforce led through 
a swamp, known as "McConnell's Dismal Swamp," 
and it was indeed, one of the most dreary places in all 
that section of country. I am certain that a hundred 
men might conceal themselves within a rod of the 
highway, without being discovered. 

The horse I had engaged, was a high spirited 
animal, and to that fact, I doubtless owe my life. The 
moon shone brightly, and nothing broke the stillness 
of the night, as I rode onward, but the clatter of my 
horse's hoofs, and an occasional "bow-wow" of some 
faithful watch-dog. 

When I reached the swamp and entered its darkened 
recesses, the gloom and stillness was indeed fearful ; 



WAT-LAID, WHILE EETURNING HOME. 255 

mj horse started at every rustling leaf or crackling 
brusli, until I attempted to pass a dense thicket, when 
I was started by the sharp crack of a rifle, and a 
bullet whizzed past me, close to my ear ! The fright- 
ened horse reared and plunged, and then springing as 
if for life, he shot ofp like an arrow, amid the explo- 
sion of fire arms discharged at me as I rode away. I 
lost my balance at first, and came near falling, but 
recovering it I grasped the rein tightly, while my 
fiery steed flew' over the ground with lightning speed ; 
nor did I succeed in controlling him until he had run 
two miles, which brought me to my own door. 

I found my family well, and very grateful that I 
had arrived safely after so fearful an encounter. 

When morning came I sent a person out to inquire 
whether any of the settlers were out the night pre- 
vious, and the report was, "Israel Lewis and two 
other men were out all night ; that they had been seen 
near the Dismal Swamp;" moreover, Lewis was seen 
to come in that morning with his boots covered with 
swamp mud, — these the Eev. Mr. Paul's boys cleaned 
for him, all of which was evidence that he it was, 
who had way -laid me with criminal intent. 

I afterwards learned, that those three men left the 
settlement at dusk, for the swamp ; that they stationed 
themselves one rod apart, all on one side of the road, 
each man with a loaded rifle, — ^the poorest marksman 
was to fire first, and if he did not bring me down, 



256 A NARROW ESCAPE FROM MY ENEMIES. 

probably tlie second would; but Lewis being tlie 
best sliot of tlie three, was to reserve bis fire until 
the last, wbicli tliey supposed I could not escape. It 
was quite dark in the thicket, and mj spirited horse 
plunged in every direction so furiously, that they 
could take no aim at me, until he had started to run, 
when we were soon beyond their reach. 

"We had already had so much difiiculty in our little 
colony that we were getting heartily sick of it. I was 
well aware that Lewis was thirsting for revenge ; that 
he wished to do me a great wrong; and yet I was 
thankful on his account, as well as on my own, that 
he had been prevented from imbruing his hands in 
the blood of a fellow being. 

Had he succeeded in taking my life, as he undoubt- 
edly intended to do, he would have been arrested 
immediately, and most likely punished as a murderer. 
He had boldly threatened my life, and the colonists 
were expecting something of the kind to take place. 
Had I not arrived at the colony, it was known at 
London that I had started for the settlement that 
night, and an immediate search would have been insti- 
tuted ; nor could the wicked deed have brought the 
least peace to the mind of Lewis or his companiona 

*' No peace of mind does that man know. 

Who beare a guilty breast ; 
His conscience drives hira to and fro. 

And never lets him rest" 



CHAPTER XXX 



DEATH OF B. PAUL, AND RETURN" OF HIS BROTHER. 

THE bold and wicked attempt to take my life, 
recorded in the preceding chapter, aronsed a 
feeling of indignation in the community against 
Lewis, and completely destroyed the little influence he 
had left ; moreover, he had now been so extensively 
published as an impostor, that he could collect no 
more money on the false pretense of raising it for the 
benefit of the colony. As soon as his money was 
gone and his influence destroyed, — many who had beer 
his firmest friends, turned against him, and among this 
class was the Rev. Benjamin Paul. He had ever pro- 
fessed the greatest friendship for, and interest in the 
success of Mr. Lewis. Heretofore, whenever he went 
to the States he was commissioned by that gentleman's 
famil}^, to purchase a long list of expensive articles, 
which the poor colonists were seldom able to buy; 
and he generally returned to them richly laden with 



258 DEATH OF BENJAMIN PAUL. 

goods, purcliased with money given to the poor, sick, 
and destitute in the colony. 

Mr. B. Paul had ever been a very proud man, but 
not a very healthy one. He was inclined to pulmo- 
nary diseases ; but had kept up pretty well, until Lewis 
was effectually put down, and his own character 
involved in many of his notorious proceedings, to- 
gether with the disappointment occasioned by his 
brother remaining so long in England, when his 
health failed, and he sank rapidly under accumulating 
disasters, to the gTave. 

The Welshmen had j)artially engaged him to preach 
for them the ensuing year, but something they had 
heard of him changed their minds, and they were about 
appointing a meeting to investigate his conduct, when 
they were informed of his illness, and concluded to 
let it pass. His son, with whom he lived, became 
deranged, and his oldest daughter on whom he was 
greatly dependent, had been dismissed from school, 
where she had been for some time engaged in teach- 
ing. All these unpleasant circumstances in his sickly 
state weighed heavily upon his proud heart ; and he 
not only declined in health, but sank into a state of 
melancholy and remorse for his past course of living. 
As he lay pining and murmuring on his death bed, I 
could but reflect how different the scene from that of 
an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, who could exclaim, 
when about to be offered, "I have fought a good fight, 



DEATH-BED SCENE. 259 

I have finished mj course, I have kept the faith; 
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness." 

I called to see him as he lay writhing in agony, his 
sunken eyes gleaming wildly, rolling and tossing from 
side to side, while great drops of perspiration stood 
upon his forehead, continually lamenting his misspent 
time, and the life he had led ! He took my hand in his 
cold, bony fingers, thanking me that I did not so despise 
him, that I could not come to see him in his sorrow 
and afiliction. Generally, however, when he raved 
and talked of his wicked life, his family excluded all 
persons from his room except his attendants. 

Pride, which had ever been his besetting sin, dis- 
played itself in his conduct to the last, for he had a 
lengthy will made, dispensing some sixteen hundred 
dollars to different individuals, when he must have 
known that his whole possessions would not amount 
to half that sum. As I looked upon him I could 
but reflect on the mysterious ways of Providence. 
Before me lay a man, who had for years arrayed him- 
self against me, using all his influence as a man and a 
minister to injure me, by setting Lewis forward in his 
wickedness ; his family living in extravagance and a 
style far beyond their means, while mine had labored 
hard and were sometimes destitute, often harrassed 
and perplexed on every side by himself and party. 
And for what? Because I would not join hands 



260 DEATH OF BEXJAMIX PAUL. 

with iniquity, and deeds of darkness. ISTotwitlistandi rg 
the contrast, when I heard his bitter lamentations and 
self-reproaches, I could lift my heart to God, in 
gratitude for His protecting goodness, which had 
preserved me an honest man. I had often erred no 
doubt, but it had never been designedly; and never 
did I value a good conscience more than when stand- 
ing by the death-bed of Benjamin Paul, who now had 
passed the Jordan of death ; and it is enough to know 
that his future, whether of joy or woe, will be meted 
out to him, by a merciful and just God, — nevertheless, 
his last moments on earth were such as ought to 
arouse every professed christian, to redoubled diligence 
in watchfulness and prayer, lest they fall into tempta- 
tion, — lest they determine to become rich, and thereby 
fall into diverse and hurtful lusts, and pierce them- 
selves through with many sorrows. 

Soon after the event above narrated, a law was 
passed in the Province, allowing each township to 
elect three commissioners, whose duty it should be, to 
transact the public business pertaining to the township. 
Each township should also elect one township clerk, 
whose business it should be, to hold and keep all 
moneys, books, and papers belonging to said town; 
with power to administer oaths, and in fact, he, with 
the commissioners, were to constitute a board, possess- 
ing all the power of a court, in relation to township 
business. 



ELECTED TOWNSHIP CLERK. 261 

f In our colony, located in the township of Bidulph, 
the colored people were a large majority of the inhab- 
itants, which gave ns the power to elect commisioners 
from our own settlement, and therefore, three black 
men where duly chosen, who entered on the duties of 
their office, while your humble servant, A. Steward, 
was elected township clerk, with all the responsi- 
bility of the office resting upon him and the same 
power given him as though he had been born in 
Eler Brittanic Majesty's dominion, with a face as 
white as the driven snow. I felt the responsibility 
of my office, but not more deeply than I did this 
I assurance of entire confidence, and respect shown me 
: by my townsmen, after all the cruel persecutions I had 
!met; after all the accusations of theft, forgery, &c., 
that vicious person could bring against me. 

The Eev. Nathaniel Paul, with his lady, arrived at 
Wilberforce in the spring of 1835, to the great joy of 
the colonists, to find that his brother had gone the 
; way of all the earth, and his remains quietly resting 
on his own premises, where his afflicted family still 
resided. 

In the colony there was a great deal of excitement 
regarding the course our agent would pursue, and all 
waited with anxious expectancy to see him enrich the 
treasury with his long-promised collections. 

We had agreed, on sending him forth as an agent 
for the colony, to give him fifty dollars per month for 
his services, besides bearing his expense3 



262 EETUEX OF EEV. N'ATHANIEL PAUL. 

Tile reverend gentleman, charged, on his return to 
the colony, the sum specified, for four years, three 
months and twenty days. We spent several days in 
auditing his account, with increased fearful forebod- 
ings. "We found his receipts to be, in the United 
Kingdoms of Great Britain, one thousand six hundred 
and eighty- three pounds, nineteen shillings; or, eight 
thousand and fifteen dollars, eighty cent^- His expen- 
ditures amounted to one thousand four hundred and 
three pounds, nineteen shillings ; or, seven thousand and 
nineteen dollars, eighty cents. Then his wages for over 
four years, at fifty dollars per month, left a balance 
against the board of several hundred dollars, v^^icli 
we had no funds to cancel, inasmuch as the reverend 
gentleman had paid us nothing of all he had collected 
in Europe, nor even paid a farthing toward liquidating 
the debts incurred for his outfit and expenses. 

There was also in Mr. Paul's charge against the 
board of managers, an item of two hundred do'lars, 
which he had paid to Wm. Loyd Garrison, while that 
gentleman was also in England ; but by whose author- 
ity he had paid or given it, it was hard to determine. 
We gave him no orders to make donations of any 
kind. To take the liberty to do so, and then to charge 
it to our poor and suffering colony, seemed hard to 
bear; still we allowed the charge. Had we, in our 
straitened and almost destitute circumstances, made a 
donation of that, to us, large sum of money to Mr. 



NO AID EECEIYED FROM PAUL's LABOES 263 

Garrison or any body else, certainly loe sliould, at 
least, have had the credit of it; and as Mr. Garrison 
had made no acknowledgment of the receipt, I wrote 
him on the subject, and his answer will be found, 
heading our correspondence, in tliis volume. 

Not a dollar did the treasurer ever receive of the 
Kev. N. Paul, unless we call the donations he had 
made without our permission, a payment. He did, it 
is true, award to the board, the sum of two hundred 
dollars, paid by him to Mr. Garrison, and fifty dollars 
more given by himself to Mr. Kell, on his departure 
from England. JSTot a farthing could we get of him ; 
and in short, as far as the monied interest of the 
colony was concerned, his mission proved an entire 
, failure. How much good the reverend gentleman 
I may have done in spreading anti-slavery truth, during 
his stay in Europe, is not for me to say. The English, 
at that time held slaves ; and report speaks well of his 
labors and endeavors to open the eyes of that nation 
to the sin of slavery and the injustice of the coloniza- 
tion scheme. It is said that he continually addressed 
jl crowded and deeply interested audiences, and that 
; many after hearing him, firmly resolved to exert 
themselves, until every chain was broken and every 
: bondman freed beneath the waving banner of the 
British Lion. Perhaps his arduous labors assisted in 
|; freeing the "West India islands of the hateful curse of 



264 EETtJRN OF REV. KATHANIEL PAUL. 

Slavery; if so, we shall not so much regret the losses 
and severe trials, it was ours to bear at that time. 

The indignant and disappointed colonists, however, 
took no such view of his mission ; and knowing as 
thej did, that he had paid not a cent of cash into the 
treasury, nor liquidated one debt incurred on his 
account, they became excited well nigh to fury, — so 
much so, that at one time we found it nearly impos- 
sible to restrain them from having recourse to Lynch 
law. They thought that the reverend gentleman 
must have large sums of money at his command 
somewhere — judging from his appearance and mode 
of living, and that a little wholesome punishment 
administered to his reverence, by grave Judge Lynch, 
enthroned upon a " cotton bale," might possibly bring 
him to terms, and induce him to disgorge some of his 
ill-gotten wealth, which he so freely lavished upon 
himself, and was withholding from those to whose 
wants it had been kindly contributed. 

Just, as was their dissatisfaction, I was satisfied by 
the examination of his accounts, that he had spent 
nearly all of the money collected for us ; his expenses 
had been considerable ; beside, he had fallen in love, 
during his stay in England, with a white woman, and 
I suppose it must have required both time and money 
to woo and win so fine and fair an English lady, said 
also to possess quite a little sum of money, that is. 



EXTKAVAGAKCE IN THE WOODS. 265 

everal tlioiisand dollars, all of wMcli our poor, little 
suiFering colony must pay for, — tlie reverend gentle- 
man's statement to the contrary notwithstanding. 

We succeeded at last, after a tedious effort, in satis- 
fying the minds of the settlers to the extent, that a 
violent outbreak was no longer to be feared or 
dreaded. When all was quiet in the colony, I ven- 
turned to make my first call on the wife of N". Paul, 
who was then stopping with the widow of the late 
E%v. B. Paul, residing some three miles from us. 

The houses of the colonists were generally built of 
logs, hewn on both sides, the spaces chinked with mor- 
tar, and the roof constructed of boards. The lower 
part was generally left in one large room, and when 
another apartment was desired, it was made by draw- 
ing a curtain across it. When we arrived at the 
residence of Mrs. Paul, we were immediately ushered 
into the presence of Mrs. ISTathaniel Paul, whom we 
found in an inner apartment, made by drawn curtains, 
carpeted in an expensive style, where she was seated 
like a queen in state, — with a veil floating from her 
head to the floor ; a gold chain encircling her neck, 
and attached to a gold watch in her girdle ; her fingers 
and person sparkling with costly jewelry. Her 
manners were stiff and formal, nor was she handsome, 
but a tolerably fair looking woman, of about thirty 
years of age: and this was the wife of our agent for 
the poor Wilberforce colony ! 
M 



266 BETURN OF EEV. NATHANIEL PAUL. 

IST. Paul had now settled his business with the 
colonists, and being about to leave for the States, we 
appealed to his honor as a man and a Christian, to call 
at Kochester and pay the seven hundred dollar bank 
debt, for which he was justly and legally holden, and 
relieve honorably, those kind gentlemen who had 
raised the money for him. He well knew the condi- 
tion of our friend E. Peck, and that the names of 
some of our colored friends were also attached to the 
note ; all of whom were relying implicitly on his qjr 
our honor to pay the obligation. That we had no funds 
in the treasury he was well aware ; also, that all were 
deeply concerned about that debt. All this he knew ; 
and in answer to our earnest and repeated injunction, 
he promised most faithfully and solemnly that he 
would call at Eochester, and take up the note. On 
those conditions he was allowed to leave the colony, 
and when parting with me, no more to meet in this 
life, his last assurance was, that he would cancel that 
obligation. What then could we think of his word, 
when we learned soon after that he passed Eochester, 
without calling, direct to Albany ; nor did he ever 
return, or make any explanation of his conduct ; nor 
give any reason why his promise was not redeemed 
and the money p.\xd. 

He preached in Albany until his health failed, then 
he was obliged to live the best way he could, and at 
last to depend on charity. 



IX)MESTIC TRIALS AND DEATH OF N. PAUL. 267 

His disease was dropsy, from wliicli lie suffered 
deeply, being unable to lie down for some time pre- 
vious to his death. I have been told that his domestic 
life was far from a peaceable or happy one, and that 
in poverty, sorrow and affliction, he lingered on a long 
time, till death at last closed the scene. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



MY FAMILY EETUEN TO BOCHESTEK. 

I WAS now seriously meditating a return to 
Rochester. My purpose in going to Canada, liaa 
already been made known to the reader, as well as 
some of the disappointments I met, and some of the 
trials and difficulties I had to encounter. 

Now, after laboring, and suffering persecution for 
about five years, my way was comparatively clear ; still 
I 'wished to leave the Province and return to the States, 
in which prospect my family greatly rejoiced. Doubt- 
less most persons in the position I then occupied, 
would have chosen to remain ; but for several reasons, 
I did not. 

ISTotwithstanding I had been during my youth, a 
poor, friendless, and illiterate slave, I had, through the 
mercy of God and the kindness of friends, not only ob- 
tained my freedom, but I had by the industry and per- 
severance of a few years, acquired a tolerable English 



HAD A CJOMPETEITCY ON LEAVING ROCHESTER. 269 

education, established a profitable business, built for 
myself a good and extensive business reputation, and 
bad laid the foundation for increasing wealth and 
entire independence. 

Indeed, so far as a competency is concerned, I pos- 
sessed that when I left Eochester. My house and 
land was paid for; my store also, and the goods it 
contained were free from debt; beside, I had several 
hundred dollars in the bank for future use, — ^nor do I 
boast, when I say that the comfort and happiness of 
myself and family, required no further exertion on 
my part to better our worldly condition. We were 
living in one oi the best countries on the earth, sur- 
rounded by friends, — good and intelligent society, and 
some of the noblest specimens of christian philan- 
thropy in the world. My wife and children, had not 
only been accustomed to the comforts, if not the 
luxuries of life, but also to associate with persons of 
refinement and cultivation ; and although they had 
willingly accompanied me to Canada, where they had 
experienced little less than care, labor and sorrow, it 
cannot be thought very strange that they should 
desire to return. "We were colored people to be sure, 
and were too often made to feel the weight of that 
cruel prejudice, which small minds with a perverted 
education, know so well how to heap upon the best 
endeavors of our oppressed race. Yet truth and 
justice to my Mends, compel me to say, that after a 



270 MY FAMILY RETUEIT TO ROCHESTER. 

short acquaintance, I have usually been treated with 
all that kindness and confidence, which should exist 
between man and man. 

At my house of entertainment in Canada, it was 
not uncommon for gentlemen of my former acquain- 
tances, to stop for a friendly chat; merchants, jour- 
neying through our settlement, after goods, would 
frequently call, with their money, watches, and other 
valuables, carefully concealed about their persons ; but 
when they learned our name, and had become ac- 
quainted a little, they would" not only freely expose 
their wealth, but often place all their money and 
valuables in my hands, for safe keeping; nor was 
their confidence ever misplaced to my knowledge. 

Another thing : when I went to "Wilberforce, I sup* 
posed that the colonists would purchase the whole 
township of Bidulph, and pay for it, which might 
have been done, had they been fortunate enough to 
put forward better men. Then when we had a suffi- 
cient number of inhabitants, we could have sent a 
member to Parliament, one of our own race, to repre- 
sent the interests of our colony. In all this we were 
disappointed. The Canada Company, in their unjust 
judgment of a whole people, by one dishonest man, 
had stopped the sale of lands to colored persons, which 
of course, put an end to the emigration of respectable 
and intelligent colored men to that place; nor was 
there any prospect of a favorable change. Moreover, 



I 



DEPARTURE FROM WILBEKFORCE. 271 

the persecutions which gave rise to the colony, had in 
a great measure ceased ; anti-slavery truth was taking 
effect on the minds of the people, and God was raising 
up many a friend for the poor slave, to plead with 
eloquent speech and tears, the cause of the dumb and 
down-trodden. 

These, with other considerations, influenced me in 
] my decision to leave Canada. As soon, however, as 
I my intentions were made known, I was importuned 
1| on all sides, by persons both in and out of the settle- 
ment, to remain awhile longer, at least. This will be 
seen by a reference to the appendix. 

After due deliberation, I concluded to send my 
family to the States, and remain myself, until my year 
should terminate, for which I had been elected town- 
ship clerk. In accordance with this determination, I 
made preparation to take my family to Port Stanley, 
forty miles distant. But what a contrast was there be- 
tween our leaving Eochester, five years before, and our 
removing from the colony ! Then, we had five two- 
horse wagOQ loads of goods and furniture, and seven 
in family; now, our possessions were only a few 
articles, in a one-horse wagon, with an addition of two 
members to our household ! The settlers collected 
about us, to take an affectionate leave of my wife and 
children; but tears and sobs, prevented an utterance 
of more than a " God bless you," and a few like expres- 
sions. The scene was indeed an affecting one: all the 



272 MY FAMILY RETURN TO ROCHESTEB. 

wearj days of our labor; all the trials and difficulties 
we had passed; all the sweet communion we had 
enjoj^ed in our religious and social meetings ; all the 
acts of neighborly kindness, seemed now to be indel- 
ibly impressed on every memory, and we felt that a 
mutual regard and friendship had bound us closei 
to each other, in the endearing bonds of Christian 
brotherhood — ^bonds not to be broken by the adverse 
scenes incident to frail human life. 

Arrived at Port Stanley, we were kindly entertained | 
by a Mr. White, a fugitive slave from Virginia, who 
owned a snug little farm on the bank of Kettle Creek, 
and who appeared to be in a good and prosperous 
condition. Being detained there, waiting for a boat, 
on which I was anxious to see my family comfort- 
ably situated before I left them, I was aroused at an 
early hour on the second morning of our stay, by a 
loud rapping at the door ; and hearing myself inquired 
for, I dressed myself immediately, and followed Mr. 
White into the sitting room, where I saw two strange 
men, armed with bludgeons! I soon learned, how- 
ever, that one of them was the under-sheriff, who had 
come to arrest me for a debt of about forty dollars, 
and the other armed man had come to assist him. I 
assured them I was ready to accompany them back to 
London, which I was obliged to do, a prisoner, leaving 
my family among comparative strangers. The debt 
had become due to a man who had worked for us in 



CLOSE UP BUSINESS AT WILBERFORCE. 273 

the building of a saw-mill. I arranged tlie matter 
without going to jail, but before I could return to 
Port Stanley, my family, kindly assisted by Mr. 
White, had departed for Buffalo. The weather was 
cold and the lake very rough, but they safely arrived 
in Rochester, after a journey of three days. During 
their passage up the lake my oldest daughter took a 
severe cold, from which she never recovered. 

I returned to the colony to attend to the duties of 
my office, and to close my business with the colony, 
preparatory to joining my family, who were now 
settled in Eochester, but in very different circum- 
stances from those in which they had left it. I had 
deposited quite a sum of money in the Rochester 
Bank; but our continual expenditures at Wilberforce, 
in my journeyings for the benefit of the colony, and 
in the transacting of business pertaining to its inter- 
ests, had left not one dollar for the support of my 
family, or to give me another start in business. 
Nevertheless, I felt willing to submit the case to Him 
who had known the purity of my intentions, and 
who had hitherto " led me through scenes dark and 
drear," believing he would not forsake me now, in 
this time of need. 

Consoling myself with these reflections, I renewed 
my endeavors to do my best, leaving the event with 
my God. 



CHAPTER XXXII 



THE LA^'D AGENT AND THE SQUATTER. 

i 

IHAYE named, I believe, that all tlie colored 
people, wlio purchased lands of Lewis, could get 
no deed nor any remuneration for their improvements. 
This they thought hard and unfair. Some had built 
a house and barn, cleared land, &c.; but when they 
wished to pay for their farms, they could get no deed, 
and were obliged to lose all their labor. 

This raised such a general complaint against the 
land agents, that they finally agreed to pay the squat- 
ters for their improvements, if they would leave their 
farms. An opportunity was soon offered to test their 
sincerity in this agreement. A shrewd fellow, who 
had been many years a sailor, named William Smith, 
iiad made valuable improvements on land, for which 
be could get no deed, and then he wished to leave it. 
His wife, also, died about this time, leaving him with 
eight children, which determined him to leave the 



FRAUDULENT LAND AGENTS. 275 

colony, and after providing homes for liis children, to 
return to his former occupation on the high seas ; but 
he also determined not to leave without n'ceiving the 
pay which the agents had agreed to give for his im- 
provements. 

" Oh yes," said they, in answer to his repeated soli- 
citations, "you shall be paid, certainly, certainly; you 
shall be paid every farthing." But when the appointed 
day came for the pompous land agents to ride through 
the settlement, you might see Smith station himself at 
first one and then another conspicuous place on the 
road, hoping they would have the magnanimity to 
stop and pay him, especially, as he had informed them 
of his destitute and almost desperate condition, with 
eight young children to maintain, and no means to do 
so, after giving up to them the farm. Before them as 
usual rode their body servant, of whom Smith would 
inquire at what hour the agents might be expected. 
And most blandly would he be informed of some 
particular hour, when perhaps, within the next ten 
minutes, the lordly agent would fly past him, on their 
foaming steeds, with the speed of a "lightning train." 
This course they repeated again and again. One day, 
when all of the land agents rode through the settle- 
ment in this manner. Smith followed them on foot 
over fifty miles. He at last intercepted them, and they 
promised with the coolest indifference, that on a cer- 
tain day, not far distant, they would certainly pay him 



276 THE LAXD AGENT AND THE SQUATTER. 

all lie claimed, if he would meet tliem at a certain 
hotel in London. To this he agreed ; and the poor 
fellow returned to the colony almost exhausted. 

His funds were nearly all spent, and he wished to 
take his children to New York ; yet his only hope was 
in the integrity and honor of the land agents. 

On the day appointed, he was at London long before 
the hour to meet, had arrived. He entered the village 
with a determined air, and saw the agents just riding 
up to a hotel, — ^but not the one they had told him to 
call at. He, however, waited for no invitation, but ' 
entered the hotel and inquired of the servant for his 
master. He said his master was not there ! 

" I know he is, said Smith, " and I want to see 
him." 

The servant withdrew, but soon returned to say 
that his master was engaged and could not see him 
that day. Smith followed the servant into the hall, 
calling out to him in the most boisterous manner 
demanding to be told the reason why he could not see 
his master. The noise which Smith purposely made, 
soon brought into the hall one of the agents, a Mr. 
Longworth, a short, fat man, — weighing in the neigh- 
borhood of three hundred pounds! When he saw 
Smith, he strutted about, assuring him that this dis- 
graceful uproar was quite uncalled for, and finally 
putting on a severe look, told him that he could not 
nave anything for his improvements ; of course not, — 



NOVEL WAY OF ENFORCING PAYMENT. 277 

he really could not expect; certainly not, kc. Smith 
plainly assured the agent that his "blarney" would avail 
him nothing ; he had come by their own appointment 
to get his pay, and that he ceartainly should have — if 
not in the way they themselves agreed upon, he would 
choose his own method of getting it ! Thus saving, 
he stepped back, threw down his woolly head. 'Jud goat 
fashion, let drive into the fat Englishman's " brp^d 
basket ! " He sprawled about ind soon recoven-^l 
his standing, but continued to screum and halloo witt 
rage and mortification, more than with pain, until he 
had brought to the spot landlord, boarders, and ser- 
vants, to witness the affray; but Smith, nothing daunt- 
ed, administered two or three more effectual butts with 
his hard head into the lordly agent, when the sub- 
dued and now silent English gentleman, drew from 
his pocket book, and carefully counted out, every 
dollar Smith had at first demanded. Smith accepted 
it pleasantly, thanked him and withdrew, amid the 
shouts and jeers of the spectators, which the agen 
was more willing to avoid than he. That was the way 
the land agent paid the squatter. 

It seemed, however, a little too bad, to make a fine 
English gentleman, feel as "flat" as Longworth ap- 
peared to feel ; yet it was undoubtedly the only method 
by which Smith could recover a farthing. The agents, 
it was supposed, did not design to pay for any im- 
provements ; indeed, some very hard and unjust 



278 THE LA^^) agent and the squatter. 

incidents occurred in connection witli tliat matter, 
and probably Smith was about the only one, who 
ever received the full value of his claim. 

There was committed about this time, a most shock- 
ing murder, in the London district. A farmer who 
had a respectable family, consisting of a wife and 
several children, became so addicted to the use of 
spirituous liquors, that he neglected both his family 
and farm so much, that his friends felt called upon to 
request the distiller, who was his near neighbor, to 
famish him with no more intoxicating drink. This, 
so exasperated the poor, ruined and besotted wretch, 
that he raved like a madman — such as he undoubtedly 
was — crazed and infuriated, by the contents of the 
poisoned cup of liquid damnation, held to his lips by 
a neighboring distiller; a fellow-being, who for the 
consideration of a few shillings, could see his neighboi 
made a brute and his family left in destitution and 
sorrow. Perhaps, however, he did not anticipate p 
termination so fearful ; yet that is but a poor excus< 
for one who lives by the sale of rum. "When a rum» 
seller gives that to a man, which he knows will " stea' 
away his brains," and make him a maniac, Low can h« 
anticipate his future conduct? And who is respon 
sible ? Ah, who ? 

When Severin found he could get no more intox 
icating beverage, he in his demoniacal rage, conceived 
the idea of despatching his whole family, and se< 



FIENDISH MURDERS. 279 

about liis purpose by first snatcbing tbe young babo 
and casting it into tlie fire ! Wben the poor wife and 
mother came shrieking to the rescue of her darling 
infant, he with one farious blow, laid her a bleeding 
corpse at his feet ! Two other young children he 
next murdered, and left them mingling their blood 
with that of their mother's, while he ran furiously 
after the two older ones, who were endeavoring to 
escape to a neighbor's for assistance ; and overtaking, 
killed them both ! When the miserable wretch had 
completed his hellish design, he started for his nearest 
neighbor, named Smith, and told him that there was a 
black and a white man at his house, murdering his 
family, requesting him to go to their assistance. Mrs. 
Smith, believing^ that Severin desismed to murder her 
husband, insisted on his calling his young men to 
assist him, which he did; and on arriving at the scene 
of slaughter, a most horrid spectacle was before them : 
five dead bodies weltering in blood, aside from that of 
the innocent babe, whose httle form lay roasted and 
charred, on the fatal and bloody hearthstone of the 
drunkard! Yictims all, of an intoxicated husband 
and father ! "WTien the guilty man saw the mangled 
remains of his household, he only increased his de- 
pravity by trying to make others responsible for the 
wicked deed, — exclaiming in feigned anguish, "my 
dear wife ! my poor children ! I was afraid they 
s-ould murder you ! Oh, my lost family ! " &c 



280 THE L.IND AGEXT AND THE SQUATTER, 

Community was soon alarmed; Severin, arrested, 
tried, convicted, and sentenced to suffer the extreme 
penalty of the law. 

It is sufficient for us to say, that the evidence waa 
clear and conclusive, that he was the onl}^ murderer 
of his family; nor was it doubted that Mrs. Smith's 
suspicion was correct; yet, with all the array of posi- 
tive testimony brought against him, he denied the 
commission of the crime to the last moment of his 
life ! When brought out for execution, he was placed 
under the gallows, and the rope with its fatal noose 
adjusted around his neck, when one of the attorneys 
arose, and with great solemnity, addressed him, in the 
most impressive manner : "We have done," said he, 
"all in our power to save your life; but you are justly 
condemned, and in a few minutes more, will enter the 
presence of the All-seeing eye of Jehovah ; now let 
me beseech you, in the name of God, to tell the truth, 
before you die." Severin declared himself innocent 
of the crime, for which he was about to suffer ; but 
was consoled, he said, with the belief that he should, 
»n a few short moments, meet in blissful re-union his 
vlear, murdered wife and children in heaven, to part 
no more ! Prayers were read ; and during the reading 
of the Lord's prayer, at the words " Thy will be done," 
the hardened wretch was launched into eternity. 

No room was left to doubt the fact, that Severin 
with his own hand destroyed the life of his unhappy 



EXECUTION" OF THE MURDERER. 281 

and abused wife, and also that of his helpless family. 
Yet in one sense, may we saj with the murderer, it 
was not he who committed the awful and inhuman 
deed, but boldly and truthfully charge it to man's 
bitterest foe — Rum ! What but the maddening effects 
of spirituous liquors, could so demoralize, so demonize 
a man, as to convert the once loving husband and 
proud father, into a reckless fiend, a heartless savage ? 
Oh, Rum ! earth contains not another so fell a foe I 

Should any who may read these humble pages, find 
an effectual warning in the unhappy end of Severin, 
one which shall induce them to pause in their course, 
or at once and forever abandon the use of alcoholic 
drinks, I shall gratefully feel that I have not written 
this incident in vain. 

Before I left "Wilberforce, the Rev. S. E. Cornish, 
made a visit, and preached the Word of Life to the 
colony, greatly to the satisfaction and comfort of the 
settlers. After distributing liberally of his abundance, 
to his poor brethren, he departed for the States, 
attended by the prayers and blessings of the "Wilber- 
force colonists. 



CHAPTER XXXIIT. 



CBLiKACTER AND DEATH OF I. LEWIS. 

I HAVE spoken in the preceding chapter, of a 
visit from the Eev. S. E. Cornish, to the colony. 
He had previously written me, concerning the object 
of his proposed visit, which was to obtain the deposi- 
tions of the board of managers, relative to all the 
money received through their agents for the colony. 
He was sent to Canada then, and once afterwards, for 
and at the expense of A. Tappan, on business pertain- 
ing to the law-suit instituted by I. Lewis against that 
gentleman, for defamation of character. The depo- 
sitions taken in the colony, with the expense of 
twice sending an agent to Canada, must have made a 
round sum for that kind gentleman to pay, merely for 
telling a truth already known ! 

Mr. Cornish had also been informed of my intention 
to leave the colony, and that my family were already 
gone. He, knowing something concerning the state of 



DEATH OF ISBAEL LEWIS. 283 

things, urged me to remain at least, until his arrival, 
as will be seen by a reference to his letter in the 
appendix. 

As I look back on those scenes of labor and trial, I 
find cause for deep humiliation and gratitude to God, 
for His goodness and gracious protection, over my 
frail life, through unseen dangers of various kinds, 
and for his continued favors and unmerited blessings. 
Many of my fellow men have fallen in death's cold 
embrace since that time, while my health and life has 
been mercifully preserved. 

Three of the leading characters of the Wilberforce 
colony are now dead. Rev. Benjamin Paul, lies in 
the silent grave-yard in Wilberforce, C. W. His 
brother. Rev. Nathaniel Paul, also sleeps the dreamless 
sleep of death, and his dust rests in the beautiful 
cemetry in Albany, K. Y. 

Israel Lewis has also finished his earthly career 
after robbing the poor of their just dues, and per- 
secuting those who endeavored to defend them ; after 
living in extravagance — "faring sumptuously every 
da}^," — he became reduced in circumstances; despised 
and dishonored, his proud spirit was at last broken. 
His health gave way; when at length, unattended and 
alone, he found his way to a hospital in Montreal, 
where he soon after died, leaving not enough of all 
his gains to afford him a decent burial ! 

Oh, what a reward "for all his >abor under the 



284 CHARACTER AND DEATH OF I. LEWIS. 

sun ! " His fame, his wealth, aud his law-suits, all 
have perished with his memory. Poor man ! 

Israel Lewis was born a slave, raised on a Southern 
plantation, and subjected to all the cruelties and depri- 
vations of a bondman. His natural abilities were 
above mediocrity, but having never had the advant- 
ages of an education, or the privileges of a society 
calculated to cultivate and refine his natural aspiring 
intellect, and to direct his indomitable will in the 
acquirement of the more imperishable graces of the 
human heart, he had come to manhood with a deter- 
mined, selfish disposition, to accomphsh whatever 
gTatified his vanity or administered to the wants of 
his animal nature. 

And may we not, with propriety here inquire, 
whether our common Father, who has declared him- 
self to be "no respecter of persons," has endowed 
men with enlarged capacities for the attainment of 
that knowledge and wisdom, so requisite to the eleva- 
tion of character, — for the express purpose of seeing 
them made beasts of burden, and their superior facul- 
ties prostituted by the sensuality imposed by Slavery, 
and to be sold as chattels, with impunity ? I tell you, 
nay. The day when Almighty God will avenge the 
work of his own hands, hasteth greatly ! "Were it not 
so, we might rejoice in the ignorance of the poor 
slaves, and pray that none of them may ever be 
endowed with a superior intellect to that of the brutes 



HIS NATURAL SHREWDNESS. 285 

they are made to resemble. Then would the proud 
spirit no longer chafe, and manhood writhe in the 
unbroken chain ; but, like the ox to the yoke or the 
horse to the harness, they might submit, without a 
conscious violation of their dearest and God given 
rights. But we were speaking of Israel Lewis. 

A natural energy and strength of character, he had 
inherited ; a malicious, selfish, and consequently a de- 
ceptive disposition, his life as a slave had undoubtedly 
bestowed upon him. Intellect must have scope, and 
when nothing is left within its grasp but vice, can we 
wonder that the slave possessing the most talent, 
should generally prove the greatest villain. 

Uneducated as was Lewis, his quick perception, his 
ungoverned passions, and his native independence, not 
only made him a dangerous slave, but an unfaithful 
and overbearing companion. He, however, took a 
wife — a slave like himself, — whose devotedness and 
good sense, cannot be made manifest, more than in 
her willingness to leave all that was dear to her on 
earth, and flee from their birth-place, she knew not 
whither ; but confiding in the professed love and pro- 
tection of her husband, she cheerfully followed him to 
the dense forest, in search of that freedom, -denied 
them in their native country, — submifting herself 
gladly to all the hardships and fearful anxieties of a 
fugitive slave. "What to her were horsemen, armed 
with dirk and rifle ! What though the trained and 



286 CHARACTER AND DEATH OF I. LEWIS. 

inhuman blood-liound ba3^ed upon tlicir track ! "Was 
not he who had sworn a life-long allegiance to her by 
her side ! Should he be killed or retaken, what could 
she desire, but to be his companion still I Slavery- 
even, bitter as was the cup, might contain for her one 
siveet drop^ while connubial love lighted up their rude 
cabin, and sweetened their daily toil; but the ad- 
ditional anticipation of liberty, to their domestic 
happiness — oh blessed hope ! How it quickened their 
weary footsteps, and, with fixed eyes upon the star of 
the North, they pressed forward through every diffi- 
culty, until they finally reached Cincinnati, 0. There 
they lived quietly, and with others, suffered the 
terrors of the mob, where also he was chosen agent, 
to seek a more safe and quiet home for his afihcted 
and outcast countrymen. The office was accepted, 
and Lewis became the founder of the Wilberforce 
colony. 

The personal appearance of Israel Lewis was pre- 
possessing; his manner and address easy and com- 
manding. To those unacquainted with his private 
life, his ungoverned passions, and his unprincipled, 
revengeful disposition, he could appear the gentleman, 
the philanthropist, and the Christian. 

His education was limited ; yet he had managed to 
gather a sufficient knowledge of the sciences to enable 
him to read and write, together with quite a fund of 
general information; and then his shrewdness and tact 



ADDRESSES THE SENATE AT ALBANY. 287 

accomplislied all the rest. To strangers lie could 
appear a ripe scholar, if left unquestioned. He was a 
good speaker, and once spake with eloquence and 
marked effect before the Legislature, assembled in the 
Senate Chamber, at Albany, K Y. 

Had the childhood of Mr. Lewis been passed under 
more favorable auspices ; had his intellectual faculties 
been so cultivated as to predominate over his animal 
propensities, and his towering aspirations directed 
toward the accomplishment of acts, lofty in their 
benevolence, noble in their sacrifice, high in their 
honorable purpose, and great in their purity; I can 
but believe that his powerful intellect would have 
achieved the fame of a Lundy, or would have be- 
queathed to his brethren a memory like that of a 
Clarkson. Instead, we have found him devoting his 
energies to the gratification of his avarice, pride, and 
ambition — characteristics directly opposed to the de- 
portment of the humble Christian, and such as our 
Heavenly Father has never promised to prosper. 
How truly has "the wise man" said, "He that is 
greedy of gain troubleth his own house ; but he that 
hateth gifts shall live." How strikingly has this 
passage been verified in the course of Lewis ! For a 
few paltry sums of gain, could he consent, not alone to 
rob the poor, for whom it was kindly given as unto 
the Lord, but to turn scornfnlly away from that poor, 
illiterate, and humble slave wife, whom he had, in 



288 CHAJIACTER AND DEATH OF I. LEWIS. 

their mutual adversity, vowed to clierish. in prosperity 
as well as in all other circumstances through life. That 
wife, who had borne with him the sorrows of 
Slavery — the humble choice of a bondman! She, 
who fled with him, anticipating additional happiness 
in a life of freedom ! Poor woman ! Disappointment 
is of an earthly growth, yet God is merciful ; notwith- 
standing we have the same authority as above, for 
saying that '^ Every one that is proud in heart is an 
abomination to the Lord: though hand join in liand, 
he shall not be unpunished." 

In the hands of a righteous Judge we leave him, 
who, for the wealth that perisheth, — who, for worldly 
honor and selfish gratification, could barter his honesty 
and integrity, as "Esau, wh'j sold his birth-right for a 
mess of pottage." 

To me the lesson is an impressive one, and I am 
thinking it would be well for us all to examine the 
foundation on which we stand. If based upon the 
solid and broad foundation of Christianity, doing to 
others in all things as we would they should do to us, 
sacrificing on all occasions our own ease, and worldly 
honor, for the benefit of our fellow-men, and the good 
of our country, then indeed, we need fear no evil ; if 
the winds of adversity howl about our dwelling, we 
shall find it will stand, being founded on a rock. 
But if we build upon "the sands" of fame or self- 
aggrandizement, and, like the towering oak. lift our 



I 



CHRISTIANITY THE SUEEST FOUNDATION. 289 

insignificant heads in proud defiance of tlie coming 
storm, we may expect that our superstruction will 
fall I " And great will be the fall of it ! " 

N 



CHAPTER XXX J. V 



MY RETUKN TO KOCHESTER. 

HAYLSTGr closed mj business in Wilberforce, I 
prepared to leave on the expiration of my 
term of office as township clerk, which was now near 
at hand. Notwithstanding, I ever felt a sensation of 
relief and pleasure, when I thought of returning to 
my old home and friends m the States, yet as often 
as I look abroad over the settlement and remember all 
my glowing hopes, — all my delightful anticipations of 
a prosperous future for those poor, struggling colonists ; 
when I recollected with what zeal and honest purpose, 
with what sincerity and sacrilSce I had prosecuted my 
labor among them, — a dark shadow of disappointment 
would flit across my mind, however welcome it might 
be. That I had firm and tried friends in the colony, 
I had never the least reason to doubt, not to suppose 
their number less after a five years residence with 
them; but our expectations had not been realized. 



. RETURN- TO ROCHESTER PENNILESS. 291 

Our hope of settling a township, to be represented in 
Parliament by one of our own people, was now for- 
ever blasted. I remembered too, that many of the 
colonists hiad been unjustly incited against my course ; 
but in the retrospect my heart did not condemn 
me. Errors many, no doubt I had committed ; but I 
was grateful, when reviewing the whole ground, for a 
conscience void of offence toward God and man ; and 
I finally took my leave of all, craving the choicest 
blessings of Heaven to rest upon that infant colony 
and its interests. 

On the nineteenth day of January, 1837, I left 
Wilberforce, passing through Brantford, Hamilton, 
Queenston, Lewiston, and from thence to Rochester. 
During my journey, I could not avoid feeling sad and 
despondent, as my mind incessantly returned to the 
review of my mission, upon which I could look with 
no other decision than that of an entire failure. I had 
spent my time, wasted my substance for nought, and 
was now returning to my dependant family, — ^that, 
with myself, had been stripped of nearly every 
means of comfort and support. 

What would my Rochester friends think of my 
conduct ? Notwithstanding all my despondency and 
Dvil foreboding at that time, I am now well satisfied 
:hat my labor was not all in vain, but that some good 
lid result from it. 

As I drew near the city, a gloom like thick dark- 



202 INIY RETURN- TO ROCHESTER. 

ness overshadowed me : I thought of the unfavorable 
transactions which had occurred between the directors 
of the colony and my friends in Rochester, and fell to 
wondering how they would receive me. 

On the twenty-third of January, 1837, I finally re- 
entered the city penniless ; but as I soon found, not so 
friendless as my fears would have it. Among, the 
first to welcome me back to my old home, was that 
friend of " blessed memory," Everard Peck, who had 
been apprised of some of the losses I had met and the 
trials I had passed through. This gentleman was also 
one of the first to propose to be one of five men, who 
should loan me one hundred dollars each, for five 
years. Through the disinterested kindness of this 
worthy gentleman, I was in a few days after my 
arrival, well established in a store of provisions and 
groceries. The five kind gentlemen, to whom I was 
so deeply indebted for the loan, were : Everard Peck, 
George A. Avery, Samuel D. Porter, Levi W. Sibley, 
and Griffith, Brother & Co. 

This noble act of generosity and kindness, on the 
part of my friends, to furnish me with the means to 
commence business, especially when their prospect was 
anything but flattering, regarding my ever being able 
to refund their well-timed and gracious liberality, — 
affected me more deeply than all the censure and 
persecution I had elsewhere received. Their frown 
and displeasure, I was better prepared to meet than 



KINDLY ASSISTED BY OLD FKLENDS. 293 

tliis considerate act of Christian sympathy, which I am 
not ashamed to say melted me to tears, and I resolved 
to show my appreciation of their kindness by an 
industry and diligence in business hitherto unsur- 
passed. 

E. Bardwell, then a merchant on Exchange Street, 
next laid me under a lasting obligation by offering to 
sell me goods on credit; others proffered assistance 
by promising their continual patronage, which was to 
me the same as cash, — and soon the store I had 
opened on Main Street, was doing an extensive busi- 
ness. My profits were small to be sure, and I had a 
heavy rent to pay for my store and dwelling, yet I 
was making a comfortable living for my family, and 
laying by something to reimburse the kind friends 
who had helped me in the time of need, when I found 
that the health of my family required more of my 
time and assistance than ever before. My oldest 
daughter, who, I have before mentioned, having taken 
a violent cold on Lake Erie, was now confined to her 
bed. All that could be done to save the life of a 
darling child — our first born — was done; and if we 
sometimes went beyond our means, it was a satisfac- 
tion to us to see her enjoy some of the comforts of 
life of which my mission to Canada had deprived her. 
One physician after another was employed to stay the 
approach of the destroyer : some said they could cure 
her, if paid in advance; to all of which I cheerfully 



294 MY RETURN TO ROCHESTER. 

acceded, but only to see our beloved sink lower, and 
patiently pine away. 

Ko one but a parent wbo has watcbed tbe rapid 
decline of a darling cbild, and marked witb a bursting 
beart the approacbing footsteps of tbe spoiler, can 
imagine bow powerless we felt at tbat time. Tbe 
wealtb of tbe Indias, bad we possessed it, would bave 
been freely given, altbougb it would bave been un- 
avaibng, to sbield tbat loved and gentle form from 
pain, and we were obliged to look bopelessly on, wbile 
our little patient, suffering daughter sank lower and 
lower every day. In vain were our parental arms 
outstretcbed for ber protection ; from deatb we could 
not save ber. Sbe bad long since ceased to glide 
about tbe bouse, and sootbe witb ber silvery tones all 
tbe cbildisb fears of tbe little ones. Helpless sbe now 
lay, burning witb fever, and wasting from our sight, 
*'till soft as tbe dew on tbe twilight descending," 
the cold damps of death gathered on her youthful 
brow. One pleasant morning after passing a restless 
night, I observed ber to gaze earnestly upward, and a 
moment after I called ber name but received no 



answer. 



" Her languishing head was at rest ; 

Its thinkings and achings were o'er; 
Her quiet, immoveable breast, 

Was heaved by affliction no more." 

On the fifteenth day of April, 1837, sbe sweetly fell 



PROSPERITY IN BUSINESS. 295 

asleep, aged eleven years. Sorrowfully we followed 
her remains to Mount Hope, where we laid lier down 
to rest until the resurrection morning. Death had 
now made its first inroad in our family circle, and 
since then we have laid two other loved ones by her 
side. We sorrowed, but not without hope. 

My business continued to prosper, and I concluded 
to buy a small variety store, containing some three or 
four hundred dollars worth of goods on the corner of 
Main and North Streets, formerly owned by Mr. 
Snow, but, having two stores on my hands, I did not 
make much by the trade. 

The first summer after I returned \o Kochester, the 
friends of temperance made a fine celebration, and 
gave me the privilege of providing the dinner. 

I considered it not only a privilege, but an honor, 
and felt very grateful to the committee who conferred 
the favor upon me. 

The celebration came off on the Fourth of July, and 
was indeed a splendid affair. The multitude were 
addressed on the public square, by some of the best 
speakers in the country. I laid in a large quantity of 
provisions of every available kind, built a bower, 
hired waiters, and prepared seats for five hundred to 
dine; but when the oration was over, and the multi- 
tude came to the table, I found that as many more 
seats were wanted, "We, however, accommodated as 
many as we could, at one dollar each, and all passed 
off well, to the great satisfaction of all concerned. 



296 MY RETURN TO ROCHESTER. 

TVTien all was over, and the friends learned tliat I 
liad on hand a large amount of cooked pro^dsion, they 
continued their kindness by purchasing it, thus pre- 
venting any loss on my part. 

My store on the corner of Main and North Streets, 
was at the head of the market, and I was enabled to 
supply both of my stores with country produce on 
the best possible terms. I kept two clerks at each 
store, and all seemed prosperous for a time, when from 
some cause, which I could never understand, my 
business began to fail. My family had ever lived 
prudently, and I knew that was not the cause. I 
thought to better my circumstances by taking a store 
in the Eochester House, but that proved to be a bad 
stand for my business, and after one year, I removed 
to Buffalo Street, opposite the Court House. I ought 
to say, that as soon as I found that my income was 
getting less than my expenses, I went to the gentle- 
men who had loaned me the five hundred dollars, and 
showed them the true state of my affairs, and they 
kindly agreed to take fifty per cent., which I paid 
them. 

Ailer locating on Buffalo Street, I took in a partner, 
named John Lee, a young man, active and industrious, 
who paid into the firm three hundred dollars, with 
which we bought goods. With what I had on hand, 
this raised the joint stock to about a thousand dollars, 
which we were making frequent additions, and on 



MY GOODS DESTEOYED BY FIRE. 297 

whicL. we had an insurance of six hundred dollars. 
Our business was now more prosperous than at any 
previous time, and we began to look up with hope 
and confidence in our final success. One night I 
returned to my home as usual, leaving Lee in the 
store. About twelve o'clock, Mr. Morris awoke me 
with a few loud raps, and the announcement that 
my store was on fire and a part of my goods in tlie 
street! I hastened to the place, where I found, as he 
had said, what was saved firom the fire piled up in the 
street and the fire extinguished. The building was 
greatly damaged and the goods they rescued were 
nearly ruined. Xow we were thrown out of busi- 
ness, and the firm was dissolved. With the assistance 
of "W. S. Bishop, a lawyer, we made out the amount 
of damage, which was readily paid by the agent for 
the insurance company. 

When the Fourth of July came round again, the 
temperance men resolved on ha\^g another demon- 
stration, and as before, I was requested to supply the 
dinner, which I did, after the same manner as the year 
previous. 

Having been thrown out of business by the fire, I 
began to examine ray pecuniary matters, and found 
that I was some three or four hundred dollars in debt, 
which I had no means of papng. True, I had met 
with a great misfortune, but I felt that to be an honest 
man I must meet all obligations, whether legally 



298 MY RETUEN TO ROCHESTER. 

bound to do so or not; yet it was beyond my power at 
that time, and I finally concluded to leave the city, 
and try to better my condition by some other business, 
or at least to clear myself from debt. 



CHAPTER XXXY 



BISHOP BROWN — DEATH OF MY DAUGHTER. 

IREMOYED with my family to the village of 
Canandaigua, where I commenced teaching a 
school for colored children, assisted by my daughter. 
The school was sustained partly by the liberality of 
the citizens of the village, and partly by donations 
from abroad. It was continued two years, and the 
children made rapid progress while they were under 
our tuition. 

Soon after I left Rochester, I visited Kew York city, 
and while there, I joined "The African Methodist Epis- 
copal Conference." Bishop Brown, of Philadelphia, 
presided over the deliberations of that body, and 
appeared to be a man of deep piety, as well as apt in 
business, and was a native of one of the Carolinas. 
I found a pleasing acquaintance also, with Bishop 
Walters of Baltimore, Md. He was small in stature ; 
but a powerful speaker, and discharged every duty 



800 BISHOP BROWN. 

with "an eye single to tlie glory of God." He lias 
now gone to give an account of his stewardship, and 
I pray that "his mantle may fall" upon one as 
capable of leading our people as he. The conference 
consisted of some sixty or seventy ministers of the 
gospel, with these two Bishops at their head. The 
conference continued its session ten days. When it 
was closed, Bishop Brown, with several otliers, started 
on a visit to the West. They called at Eochester, and 
then passed over to Canada, where a conference was 
to be holden. We arrived, after a pleasant journey, 
at Hamilton, where the English government have a 
regiment of black soldiers stationed. It was common, 
in passing through the streets of Hamilton, to meet 
every few rods, a colored man in uniform, with a 
sword at his side, marching about in all the military 
pomp allowed only to white men in this free republic. 

All being in readiness. Bishop Brown opened the 
conference under the authority of Her Brittanic 
Majesty, with great solemnity, which seemed to be 
felt by the whole assembly. This meeting appeared 
to me far more interesting than the one we had 
attended in Kew York city. The colored people 
were much more numerous in Hamilton, and in far 
better circumstances than in New York. It is a hard 
case to be poor in any large city, but to be both poor 
and black, as was the condition of the majority of our 
friends in I^ew York, was indeed a terrible calamity 



CONFERENCE OPENED IN HAMILTON, C. W, 801 

Every class, no matter how worthless they might be, 
would be allowed to rent a house in preference to a 
colored man. The consequence was, our people were 
crowded back into the most unhealthy alleys, in old 
dilapidated tenements unfit for human beings to dwell 
in, and such as could not be disposed of to any other 
class of people. I am happy to say, however, that a 
favorable change has taken place in New York, since 
the time of which I am speaking. Capitalists have 
noted the good reputation of the colored people as 
tenants, and have of late erected good dwellings for 
their accommodation. In Hamilton there was none 
of that wretchedness and squalid poverty, nor any of 
that drunken rowdyism so common in Eastern cities, 
perceivable among the colored people. 

Our conference was largely attended by all classes, 
both black and white, — many of the latter invited the 
Bishop with his associates to their dwellings to dine, 
indeed we seldom took a meal at our lodgings, so con- 
stantly were we solicited by friends to accompany 
them home. 

We also found many fugitive slaves in that city, 
many of whom were intelligent mechanics. Some of 
them took us about the place, showing us the different 
buildings they were engaged in erecting; quite a 
number were employed in building a church which 
appeared to be done in a workman-like manner. 

In the meantime our meeting was progressing in a 



802 BISHOP BROWN. 

very interesting manner, and when tlie closing services 
were commenced, the house was filled to overflowing; 
still many could not be accommodated. The preach- 
ing was solemn and impressive, and it really seemed 
to me that the glory of God filled the house in wliich 
we worshipped; saints rejoiced and shouted "glory to 
God, in the highest," while sinners trembled and cried 
out, "what must we do to be saved from the wrath to 
come." There were several hopeful conversions 
during the session of conference ; and after its close 
we spent one day in making social calls, and viewing 
the city and its surroundings. 

Burlington Bay makes an excellent harbor for ship- 
ping, while Burlington Heights loom up on the north 
in all their wild and terrific grandeur. Near the bay 
resides Mr. McNab, so notorious in the history of the 
Canadian revolution. We went in a large company 
to look at his beautiful grounds and residence, over 
which we were politely conducted by his amiable 
lady. It was indeed a lordly mansion, with its sur- 
roundings laid out in the English style of princely 
magnificence. 

On our return to the city at evening, we were 
invited to attend a grand soiree, got up in honor of 
the Bishop's first visit to that place. Several families 
of colored people combined to provide the splendid 
entertainment, while one lady presided at the board. 
She was very beautiful and very dark; but a complete 



ATTEND A GRAND SOIREE. 803 

model of grace and elegance, conversing witli perfect 
ease and intelligence with all, both black and white 
ministers, who surrounded the festive board, as well 
as our Irish friends, not a few of whom were present. 
One honest son of the Emerald Isle entered, and not 
understanding the matter, inquired of his brother 
"Pat," in rather a loud whisper, "What's all them 
nagurs setting to that table for ? " He, however, soon 
satisfied himself, and all passed off quietly and in 
excellent order. At a late hour the company, after a 
benediction, withdrew and dispersed. 

We left Hamilton the following morning, feeling 
grateful and pleased with our meeting and visit. 

It was a beautiful morning; the lake was still, no 
sound was heard bat the rushing waves, as our boat 
moved on through its placid waters, toward our 
destination, then called Fort George, now Niagara, 
where we took stage for the Falls. 

At that place of resort, we stopped to view the 
stupendous work of Almighty God, and listen to the 
ceaseless thundering of the cataract. How tame ap- 
pear the works of art, and how insignificant the 
bearing of proud, puny man, compared with the awful 
grandeur of that natural curiosity. Yet there, the 
rich from all parts of the world, do congregate! 
There you will find the idle, swaggering slaveholder, 
blustering about in lordly style; boasting of his 
wealth ; betting and gambling ; ready to fight, if his 



S04: BISHOP BROWX. 

slightest wish is not granted, and lavishing his cash 
on all who have the least claim npon him. Ah, well 
can he afford to be liberal, — well can he afford to 
spend thousands yearly at our [N'orthern watering 
places: he has plenty of human chattels at home, 
toiling year after year for his benefit. The little hoe- 
cake he gives them, takes but a mill of the wealth 
with which they fill his purse; and should his 
extravagance lighten it somewhat, he has only to 
order his brutal overseer to sell — soul and body — 
some poor creature; perchance a husband, or a wife, 
or a child, and forward to him the proceeds of the 
sale. While the wretched slave marches South with 
a gang, under the lash, he lavishes his funds in 
extravagant li%'ing, — funds gathered from the tears 
and blood of a helpless human being. Have you, 
dear reader, ever watched the slaveholder at such 
places as I have, gliding through the shady groves, 
or riding in his splendid carriage, dressed in the 
richest attire, and with no wish ungratified that gold 
can purchase; and have you ever been guilty of 
envying him, or of wishing yourself in his condition? 
If so, think of the curse which rests on him who 
grinds the face of the poor. Think of his doom in 
the day of final retribution, when he shall receive at 
the bar of a righteous Judge, '' according to the deeds 
done in the body, " and not according to his wealth 
and power. Think you, that the prayers, cries, and 



805 



pleadings of the down-trodden slave tliat for years 
have been ascending to the throne of a just God, will 
never be avenged? Yea, verily, the day of reckon- 
ing hastens on apace, and though, "He bear long 
with them; He will surely avenge them of their ad- 
versaries; and that speedily ! '' 

As we pursued our journey to Buffalo, we passed 
Grand Island, from whence Mordecai Emanuel Xoah, 
some years ago issued a proclamation, calling on the 
Jews to come and build on that island the " City of 
Eefuge," but which I believe was not responded to, 
as I saw it remained in its native wildness. He had 
also a monument erected there at the time, which 
might be seen from the highway and canal, consisting 
of a white marble slab, six feet in height, with a suit- 
able inscription upon it, to direct the poor Jew to the 
City of Eefuge. 

It was quite conspicuous, but not so magnificent as 
Gen. Brock's at Queenston Heights. 

Arrived at Buffalo, we held several meetings which 
were very interesting. The colored people were then 
numerous in that city, and owned one of the largest 
churches in Western Xew York. TTe found a large 
and prosperous society under the superintendence of 
Elder AYeir, who was a good and talented man, setting 
a godly example for his flock to imitate. At Buffalo I 
parted with my pleasant and instructive traveling 
companion, Bishop Brown, never to meet again on the 



806 DEATH OF MY DAUGHTER. 

shores of time. Soon after that pleasant journey lie 
died, and passed from his labor to reward. 

Buffalo was then, as now a great place for business. 
Vessels from all parts of the country crowded the 
docks, and I then thought that it must in time become 
one of the largest cities in the Union. After a plea- 
sant visit with our people there, I returned to my 
home in Canandaigua, where I now began to feel 
quite settled. 

I had been requested to act as agent for the "Anti- 
Slavery Standard," with which I complied, and 
leaving my daughter to teach the school, I spent the 
most of my time in traveling through the country to 
advance the interests of that paper. . 

"When I returned from Buffalo, she was complain- 
ing of poor health, nor was it long before we saw 
that she was rapidly declining. 

This beloved daughter, I had spared no pains nor 
money to educate and qualify for teaching. I had 
encountered all the trials and difficulties that every 
colored man meets, in his exertions to educate his 
family. I had experienced enough to make me fear 
that I should not always be able to get my children 
into good schools, and therefore determined at what- 
ever cost, to educate this child thoroughly, that she 
might be able, not only to provide for her own wants, 
but to teach her younger brothers and sisters, should 
they be deprived of the advantages of a good school. 



HEART-RENDING BEREAVEMENT. 807 

Well had she rewarded my labor; well had she 
realized all my fondest hopes and expectations, — but 
alas ! for human foresight and worldly wisdom ! The 
accomplishments and qualifications of a teacher were 
attained; and proudly we looked for the achieve- 
ment of our long-contemplated design. How hard to 
believe that the fell destroyer was upon her track ! 
Her education had qualified her for teaching the 
sciences ; but now I saw, that her faith in the religion 
of the blessed Christ, was assisting her to teach her 
own heart a lesson of patience, and quiet submission 
to the will of Him who holds the issues of life, — and 
Oh, how difficult for us to learn the solomn lesson, 
that her wasting form, her gradual sinking away, was 
hourly setting before us. 

Slowly her strength failed; she, however, saw our 
sorrowful anxiety, and would try to relieve it with a 
cheerful appearance. One day perhaps she would be 
able to walk about, which would revive our wavering 
hope; the next she was prostrate and sufiering; then 
hope died and we were sad ! All the spring time she 
languished; the summer came, the roses bloomed, and 
the grain began to ripen, but she was wasting away. 
The orchard yielded its golden harvest; the birds 
sang merrily on the trees, but a dark shadow had 
fallen on our hearthstone, and a gloom, like the pall of 
death, rested on our household. Her place at table 
was already vacant ; no longer she called the little 



808 DEATH OF MY DAUGHTER. 

ones about lier to hear them repeat their tasks, — all 
of which admonished us, that soon the bed where we 
could now see her, would be vacated ; and we should 
no longer witness her patient smile, and know that 
she was still with us. The pastor of the Baptist 
church often called to praj with, and for, the quiet 
sufferer, which she appreciated very highly, for she 
was a Christian in every sense of the word. 

On the thirtieth day of August, at about eleven 
o'clock, A. M., without a struggle or a groan, her 
spirit returned to God who gave it. "Sweetly as 
babes sleep," she sank into the embrace of death. 
Happily, triumphantly, had she seen the grim mes- 
senger approach ; but she knew whom she had be- 
lieved, and that He was able to keep that which 
she had committed to Him, unto the resurrection of 
the just. 

She had previously made a confession of her faith 
in Christ, and had been buried with Him in baptism. 
A few days after her demise, a long, sad train wound 
its way to the village church yard, where we de- 
posited the remains of our beloved, — Patience Jane 
Steward, in the eighteenth year of her age ; and then 
returned to our desolate house, to realize that she had 
left a world of pain and sorrow, where the fairest rose 
conceals a thorn, the sweetest cup a bitter drop, for a 
home where the flowers would never fade, and where 
pain, sorrow and death will never come. We all felt 



THE PEACEFUL DEATH-BED CONTRASTED. 809 

the solemn and impressive warning, "Be ye also 
ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of 
Man Cometh." 

As often as I recalled her triumphant, peaceful 
death, -her firm reliance on God, and sweet submission 
to His will, I could not forbear contrasting her de- 
parture with that of Mrs. Helm, whose death I have 
elsewhere described ; and could fervently pray, that I 
might live the life of the righteous, that my last end 
mio:ht be like hers. 



" Behold the Western evening light. 
It melts in deep'ning gloom ; 
So calmly Christians sink away. 
Descending to the tomb. 

The -winds breathe low, the "withering leaf 
Scarce whispers from the tree, — 

So gently flows the parting breath. 
When good folks cease to be. 

How beautiful on all the hills, 

The crimson light is shed ; 
'Tis like the peace the Christian gives. 

To mourners round his bed. 

How mildly on the wandering cloud. 

The sunset beam is cast, — 
'Tis like the mem'ry left behind. 

When loved ones breathe their last. 



810 DEATH OF IIY DAUGHTER. 

And now above the dews of niglxt. 
The yellow stai- appears ; 

So faith springs in the breast of those. 
Whose eyes are bathed in tears. 

But soon the morning's happier light. 
Its gloiy shall restore ; 

And eyelids that are sealed in death. 
Shall wake to close no more." 



ii 



CHAPTEE XXXYI 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST OF AUGUST. 

THE anti-slavery friends in Canandaigua, had re- 
solved to celebrate tlie anniversary of tlie West 
India emancipation, in suitable manner in that village, 
for which funds had been unsparingly collected, to 
defray the expenses of the coming demonstration. 
The first of August, 1847, fell on Sunda}^, and our 
people concluded to devote that day to religious meet- 
ings, and the second to their proposed celebration. 

Frederick Douglass and Mr. Van Loon, from Pough- 
keepsie, addressed the people on the Sabbath; and 
also, on the same evening, a large concourse at the 
Court House. The day following, there were not less 
than ten thousand people assembled on the' beautiful 
grounds, belonging to the village Academy — attentive 
listeners all to the eloquent speeches delivered, and 
interested spectators of the imposing exercises. 



812 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST OF AUGUST. 

When the vast multitude had convened, the exer- 
cises were commenced by the Rev. S. R. Ward, who 
addressed the tlirone of grace, after which, Mr. Fred- 
erick Douglass delivered an oration, in a style of 
eloquence which only Mr. Douglass himself can equal, 
followed by a song from the Geneva choir, and music 
by Barring's band. Rev. H. H. Garnet, editor of 
"The ISTational Watchman," next spake, and with 
marked effect, followed by Messrs. Ward and Doug 
lass; after which, the assemblage formed a procession, 
and marching to the Canandaigua Hotel, partook of a 
sumptuous dinner, provided by the proprietor of that 
house. At six P. M., they again assembled on the 
square, and were most eloquently addressed by both 
Ward and Garnet; at the close, they repaired to the 
ladies' fair, where they found everything in a con- 
dition which spake well for the enterprise and indus- 
try of our colored sisters. Their articles for sale, 
were of a choice and considerate selection, and such 
as sold rapidly and at fair prices. When all was 
pleasantly over, the ladies contributed twenty dollars 
toward paying the speakers present. 

A most beautiful ode was composed by a warm and 
generous friend of the cause, which was sung in the 
grove, in a spirit which produced a thrilling interest. 
Gladly would I give the reader the whole composi- 
tion, but its length makes it objectionable for this 



MESSRS. DOUGLASS, WARD AST) GARXET. 813 

place, but should they happen to hear a soul-stirring 
and sublime ode, commencing with, 

" Hail ! to this dav returning ; 
Let all to Heaven aspire," <fec., 

they may know it is the one to which I refer. 

It was indeed, a glorious day for the colored popu- 
lation generally ; and many were the indications of a 
diminution of that prejudice so prevalent everywhere. 
Some, who had supposed the colored man so inferior 
to themselves as to be incapable of making an inter- 
esting speech, were convinced of their error, after 
hearing Messrs. Douglass, Ward and Garnet. Mr. Yan 
Loon was a white clergyman, but a brother indeed ; 
his soul illumined by the pure light of the gospel of 
peace ; liis heart full of sympathy for the oppressed ; 
his tongue pleading eloquently for equal rights ; and 
his hands busily engaged in breaking every yoke, 
resting on the necks of poor humanity. So vigor- 
ously, so zealously did he unfold the horrors of the 
slave S3^stem; so truthfully and faithfully did he 
expose the treachery of northern politicians, and so 
pathetically did he appeal to the humanity of every 
professed Christian to speak out boldly for the dumb ; 
to shield, by the holy principles of their religion, the 
poor, bound, illiterate slave, from Southern cruelty 
and bondage, — that some of our aristocratic citizens, 
some of our white savans, repaid his trutliful elo- 
O 



314 CELEBRATION OF THE FIEST OF AUGUST. 

quence, by visiting -apon him the bitterest male- 
dictions. From the negro, said they, we will 
accept these statements as true, — ^from him, they are 
pertinent and forcible; but when such unpalatable 
truths are uttered by a white clergyman, we cannot 
abide, nor will we listen to them ! 

Let consistency blush, and justice hang down its 
head ! Is not truth the same, whether proclaimed by 
black or white, — ^bond or free ? Is a falsehood to be 
pardoned because uttered by a negro ? If indeed, as 
was admitted, the sentiments expressed by our elo- 
quent colored speakers, were true^ could they be false, 
when enforced by our intellectual friend, Yan Loon ? 
Certainly not; nor would the case have been so 
decided by these Solons, in any other case : or where 
the prejudice against color had not warped and 
blinded their otherwise good judgments. Our speak- 
er, however, performed his duty faithfully, and with 
great satisfaction to the colored people and their true 
friends present. 

The remains of this fearless charnpion of liberty ; 
this humble disciple of the despised ISTazarene, now 
sleeps in death, beside the placid waters of the 
Hudson, while his cherished memory lives in the 
affections of thousands, who "are ready to perish," 
and is honored by the pure in heart, wherever his 
name has been known throughout the land. In the 
day of final reckoning, think you, he will regTct 



TEIBUTE TO THE LAMENTED VAN LOON. 815 

haying plead the cause of the bondman? Ah, no; 
nor can we doubt that to him will be rendered the 
welcome plaudits r '* Well done, good and faithful 
servant ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Thou 
hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee 
a ruler over many things." AYhat then are the few 
light afflictions endured in this life, when compared 
with "an eternal weight of glory," awarded to the 
faithful in that which is to come ? 

Pleasant, happy, and beneficial, as had been the 
re-union of old and tried friends, to celebrate a glo- 
rious event, yet, like all earthly enjoyments, it was 
brought to a termination, reluctant as were the friends 
to separate. Since that day, many have been the 
demonstrations of- grateful joy and gladness on the 
glorious anniversary of the emancipation of slaves on 
the West India Islands; and yet, in this boasted "land 
of the free, and home of the brave ; " this famous and 
declared free Kepublic, — the American slave still 
cL^jiks his heavy chain, and wears the galling yoke 
of the bondman ! 



CHAPTER XXXYII. 



COXCLUSIOX. 

FOR several years past, anti-slavery trutli has 
been spreading, and in proportion as light has 
shone upon the "peculiar institution," exposing to the 
world its crimes and blood, — enstamping upon its 
frontlet, "the sum of all villainies," — ^has the 
wrath of the impious slaveholder been kindled, and 
his arm outstretched to strengthen the chain, and 
press closer the yoke upon the helpless slave, proving 
conclusively that he loves darkness because his deeds 
are evil. Nor is this all ; he and his apologists will inso- 
lently tell you, that you are the guilty ones who have 
tightened the bonds of the slave, increased his hard- 
ships, and blighted his prospect of freedom, by your 
mistaken kindness, in showing the slaveholder the 
enormity of his sin ! Can this be so ? Have we any 
direct influence over his human chattels ? None. 
Then who is it that rivets the chain and increases the 



CONCLUSION. 817 

already lieavy burdeii of tlie crushed slave, but lie 
who lias the power to do with him as he wills ? He 
it is, who has been thrust, unwillingly perhaps, into 
sufficient hght to show him his moral corruption, and 
the character of the sin he is daily committing ; he it 
is, whose avarice and idleness induces to hold fast 
that which is to him a source of wealth, — and by no 
means to allow the same light to fall in upon the 
darkened intellect of his slave property, lest his 
riches "take to themselves wings;" or, as may be 
more properly said, taize to ifiemselves legs and run 
away. 

What stronger proof can we ask in favor of our 
position, than the intolerant spirit of the South ? If 
the system and practice of Slavery is a righteous one, 
instituted by an All-wise God, certainly no human 
power — especially one so impotent and futile as the 
abolition power is said to be — can ever overthrow it. 
Why then are the mails so closely examined, and 
fines imposed on prohibited anti-slavery documents? 
Is it beyond their power to confute the arguments 
adduced, or are they fearful that a ray of Northern 
light may fall on the mind of some listening slave, 
and direct him to the depot of an under-ground rail- 
road ? Judge ye ! 

What but this same fearful and intolerant spirit, — 
this over-bearing, boasting spirit, was it, that cowardly 
attacked a Christian Senator, wliile seated unsuspect- 



318 CONCLUSION. 

inglj at his desk, and felled him to the floor, bleeding 
and senseless ? Was not the villainous blow which 
fell upon the honored head of Charles Sumner, dealt 
by the infamous Brooks of Soutli Carolina, aimed at 
the free speech of the entire Korth ? Was it, think 
you, a personal enmity that the cowardly scoundrel 
had toward our worthy Northern Senator, which 
induced the attack? Ko, no. Brooks spake for the 
South, and boldly has it responded — Amen ! 

It has said through its representatives, that you 
Northerners are becoming too bold in speaking of our 
sin, and we will use brute force to repel it — an argu- 
ment with which we are familiar. You have told us 
that we ought not to hold slaves, nor extend slave 
territory, which will in a measure destroy our slave 
market, and prove injurious to our slave-breeding 
population. You have told us we have no right to 
usurp Kansas, — no right to murder " Free State men," 
and no right to sustain there, a set of "ruffians" to 
make Kansas a slave State. You have told us, that 
we have no right to live on the unrequited toil of our 
slaves; nor to sell them to the highest bidder; nor 
spend the proceeds of the sale in idle extravagance. 
Now know, all ye Northerners, by this cowardly blow 
on the devoted head of your honored and respected 
Senator, that we shall no longer permit you to tell us 
such unpalatable truths, nor allow you the privilege 
of free speech! We have too long held the balance 



CONCLUSION. 819 

of power in tlie government to yield it now; and we 
give you to know, tliat whatever we ask of this 
government, we ex^^ect to obtain; nor will we hear 
any of your objections. When we desire you to turn 
blood-hound, and hunt for us our fugitive slaves, we 
expect you to do it, and to see them returned to their 
masters, without a murmur on your part. Should 
you object or dare refuse, we shall certainly cane some- 
body^ or else do what we have threatened for the last 
quarter of a century, — "Dissolve the Uinon!" 
Bah ! 

My house ha^ ever been open to the fugitive slaves; 
but more particularly when I resided in Kochester, 
did I have occasion to see and feel the distresses 
of that class of persons; and it appears to me, that 
the heart must be of adamant, that can turn coldly 
away from the pleadings of the poor, frightened, fly- 
ing fugitive from Southern bondage. 

For many years past, I have been a close and inter- 
ested observer of ni}^ race, both free and enslaved. I 
have observed with great pleasure, the gradual im- 
provement in intelligence and condition of the free 
colored people of the North. In proportion as preju- 
dice has diminished, they have gradually advanced; 
nor can I believe that there is any other great impedi- 
ment in the way to a higher state of improvement. 
That prejudice against color is not destroyed, we yqtj 
well knovf. Its effects may be seen in our down-cast, 



320 CONCLUSION-. 

discouraged, and groveling countrymen, if no where 
else. Notwithstanding the late diminution, it exists 
in many of our hotels: some of them would as soon 
admit the dog from his kennel, at table, as the colored 
man ; nevertheless, he is sought as a waiter ; allowed 
to prepare their choicest dishes, and permitted to 
serve the white man, who would sneer and scorn to 
eat beside him. Prejudice is found also, in many of 
our schools, — even in those to which colored children 
are admitted; there is so much distinction made by 
prejudice, that the poor, timid colored children might 
about as well stay at home, as go to a school where 
they feel that they are looked upon as inferior, how- 
ever much they may try to excel. 

Kor is that hateful prejudice — so injurious to the 
soul, and all the best interests of the negro — exclud- 
ed from the professed church of Christ. Oh, no; we 
often find it in the house of worship, in all its cruel 
rigor. Where people assemble to worship a pure and 
holy God, who can look upon no sin with allowance — 
the creator of all, both white and black, — and where 
people professing to walk in the footsteps of the meek 
and quiet Jesus, who has taught us to esteem others 
better than ourselves; we often see the lip of some 
professed saint, curled in scorn at a dusky face, or a 
scowl of disapprobation if a colored person sits else- 
where than by the door or on the stairs. How long, 
O Lord, must these things be ! 



CONCLUSION". 321 

Of my enslaved bretliren, nothing so gratifies me, 
as to hear of their escape from bondage ; and since the 
passage of that iniquitous "Fugitive Slave Bill," I 
have watched with renewed interest the movements 
of the fugitives, not only from Slavery direct, but 
those who have been compelled to flee from the nomi- 
nally free States, and ask the protection of a monar- 
chial government, to save them from their owners in 
a land of boasted liberty ! 

The knowledge I have of the colored men in 
Canada, their strength and condition, would cause me 
to tremble for these United States, should a war ever 
ensue between the English and American govern- 
ments, which I pray may never occur. These fugitives 
may be thought to be a class of poor, thriftless, 
illiterate creatures, like the Southern slaves, but it is 
not so. They are no longer slaves; many of whom 
have been many years free men, and a large number 
were never slaves. They are a hardy, robust class of 
men ; very many of them, men of superior intellect ; 
and men who feel deeply the wrongs they have en- 
dured. Driven as they have been from their native 
land; unprotected by the government under which 
they were born, and would gladly have died, — they 
would in all probability, in case of a rupture, take up 
arms in defense of the government which has pro- 
tected them and the country of their adoption. 
England could this day, very readily collect a regi- 
on 



822 CONCLUSION". 

ment of stalwart colored men, who, having felt the 
oppression of onr laws, would fight with a will not 
inferior to that which actuated our revolutionary 
forefathers. 

And what inducement, I ask, have colored men to 
defend with their hves the United States in any case ; 
and what is there to incite them to deeds of bravery ? 

Wherever men are called upon to take up arms in 
defense of a country, there is always a consciousness 
of approaching wrong and oppression, which arouses 
their patriotism and incites to deeds of daring. They 
look abroad over fields of their own cultivation ; they 
behold too, churches, schools, and various institutions, 
provided by their labor, for generations yet to <iome ; 
they see their homes, their cherished hearthstone, 
about to be desecrated, and their wives and little ones, 
with their aged sires, exposed to the oppression of a 
ruthless foe. Then, with what cheerful and thrilling 
enthusiasm, steps forward the husband, the father, the 
brother, and bares his bosom to the sword, — ^his head 
to the storm of the battle-field, in defence of his 
country's freedom, and the Grod-given rights of him- 
self and family ! But what sees the oppressed negro ? 
He sees a proud and haughty nation, whose Congress- 
men yearly meet to plot his ruin and perpetuate his 
bondage ! He beholds, it is true, a few Christ-like 
champions, who rise up with bleeding hearts to defend 
his cause; but while his eye kindles with grateful 

» 



CONCLUSION. 323 

emotion, tie sees the bludgeon of the South — already 
reeking in the blood of freemen — raised and ready to 
fall with murderous intent upon the head of any one, 
who, like the illustrious Sumner, dare open his mouth 
in defence of Freedom, or speak of the wrongs of the 
poor negro, and the sins of the Southern autocrat ! 

What inducement then, has the slave to shoulder 
his musket, when the American drum beats the call, 
" To Arms I To Arms ! " Does he not remember that 
the wife of his bosom; the children, — "bone of his 
bone, and flesh of his flesh," — and the rude hearth- 
stone they for a time are allowed to surround, belong 
not to himself but to the tyrannical master, who 
claims dominion over all he possesses. As his pro- 
perty then, let the slave owner go forth in defence of 
his own, and lay down his life if he ' please ; but the 
poor slave has no home, no family to protect; no 
country to defend ; nor does he care to assist in sus- 
taining a government that instead of oflering him 
protection, drives him from the soil which has been 
cultivated by his own labor, — to beg at the hand of 
England's Queen, *'life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness." 

Humiliating as it is for an American citizen to 
name these things, they are nevertheless true ; and I 
would to God that America would arise in her native 
majesty, and divest herself of the foul stain, which 
Slavery has cast upon her otherwise pure drapery ! 



324 coxcLrsio:N'. 

Then would she be no longer a hissing and by-word 
among the nations ; but indeed what she professes to 
be, "the land of the free, and the home of the brave; " 
an asylum for the oppressed of every clime. 

But should the monarchial government of England 
call for the services of the colored man, freely would 
his heart's blood be poured out in her defence, — not 
because he has a particular preference for that form 
of government ; not because he has ceased to love his 
native country, — but because she has acknowledged his 
manhood, and given him a home to defend. Beneath 
the floating banner of the British Lion, he finds 
inducements to lay down his life, if need be, in 
defence of his own broad acres, his family and fire- 
side, — all of which were denied him under the Stars 
and Stripes of his fatherland. But a short time ago, 
the colored men of Cincinnati, 0., were promptly 
denied the pri^dlege they had solicited, to join with 
other citizens, in celebrating the anniversary of 
Washington's Birth Day ! Oh, no ; there must be 
no colored man in the company, met to honor him 
who still lives in the heart of every American citi- 
zen, — "the father of his country," — and yet, who 
scorned not to sleep beside his faithful negro! IS'or 
did the nephew of the illustrious Greneral, despise the 
command of the black regiment, which Gen. Jackson 
so proudly commended for their bravery, and be- 
stowed upon it his personal thanks, for their services 
on the field of battle. 



CONCLUSION. 325 

Do tlie Nortliern or Free States of tlie Union think 
to clear tlieir skirts of tlie abomination of Slavery, by 
saying that they own no slaves? Yery.true. But is 
the poor, flying fugitive from the house of bondage, 
safe one moment within your borders ? AYill he be 
welcomed to your homes, your tables, your firesides ? 
Will your clergjmien bid you clothe and feed him, or 
give him a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple 
of that holy Christ, who has said, — "inasmuch as yo 
have done it unto one of the least of these little ones, 
je have done it unto me?" — Or will your own 
miserable Fugitive Slave Law, close the mouth of your 
clergy; crush down the rising benevolence of your 
heart; and convert you into a human blood-hound, to 
hunt down the panting fugitive, and return him to the 
hell of Slavery ? Oh, my God ! — the fact is too hor- 
rible to acknowledge, and yet it is a stubborn one. 
Kot on one foot of land under the broad folds of 
Columbia's banner, can the slave say, " I am free ! " 
Hungry, naked, and forlorn, he must flee onward ; 
nor stop short of the outstretched arms of an English 
Queen. Yet, thanks be to our Heavenly Father, that 
all have not bowed the knee to the Southern autocrat 
or slave power. A few noble souls, thank God, 
remain, who, in defiance of iniquitous laws, throw 
open wide their doors to the trembling, fleeing bond- 
man, whose purses are freely emptied to supply his 
wants, and help him on in his flight to the British 



826 coircLusioN. 

dominion. But can tlicse ont-gusWngs of a benevo- 
lent heart — the purest impulses of a noble nature — be 
permitted to flow out spontaneously, in open day- 
light ? Alas, no ! You must be quiet ; make no 
noise, lest an United States' Marshal wrest from you 
the object of your Christian sympathy, and impose 
on you a heavy fine, for your daring to do to another 
as you would he should do to you. 

Is not the necessity of an '■'■under ground railroad^'''' 
a disgrace to the laws of any country ? Certainly it 
is; yet I thank God, that it does afford a means of 
escape to many, and I pray that the blessings of 
Heaven may ever rest upon those who willingly 
superintend its interests. Oh, my country! T7hen 
will thy laws, just and equal, supersede this humilia- 
ting necessity ! 

Is my reader about to throw the blame of our 
nation's wronsr on Eno^land, and accuse her of first 
tolerating Slavery? "We admit it; but did she not 
repent of the e\'il she had done, and speedily break 
every yoke, and let the oppressed go free ? Certainly ; 
no slave now breathes in England's atmosphere. But, 
say you, her white poor are slaves to the aristocracy, 
from which sentiment I beg leave to differ. Oppressed 
they may be, and doubtless are, as the poor are apt to 
be in any and every country ; but they are not sold 
in the market, to the highest bidder, like beasts of 
burden, as are the American slaves. Is'o Englishman, 



CONCLUSION. 827 

however poor, destitute, or degraded he may be^ but 
owns himself, his wife and children; nor does he fear 
tliat they be sold and torn from his embrace, while he 
is laboring for their support. . Poverty, my friend, 
does not comprise the bitterness of Slavery, no more 
than "one swallow makes a summer," — nor does it 
consist solely in ignorance and degradation. Its 
bitterness arises from a consciousness of wrong; a 
sense of the violation of every right God has given to 
man, and the uncertainty of his future, over which he 
has no control. 

If the American people flatter themselves with the 
idea of getting rid of the hated negro race, by colo- 
nizing them on the sickly soil of Liberia, or any other 
country, they will surely find themselves mistaken. 
They are Americans ; allied to this country by birth 
and by misfortune; and here will they remain, — not 
always as now, oppressed and degraded, — for all who 
have any interest in the matter, well know that the 
free colored people, are rapidly advancing in intelli- 
gence, and improving their condition in every respect. 
Men of learning and genius, are now found among 
those with fleecy locks, and good mechanics with 
dusky complexion. 

This Eftarked improvement in the condition and 
rapid advancement in intelligence among our people, 
seems to have alarmed the colonizationists, and made 
them fearful that those very down-trodden slaves, who 



828 CONCLUSION". 

have for years labored for nought; wliose blood and 
tears have fertilized the Southern soil, may, perchance, 
become their equals in intelligence, and take ven- 
geance on their oppressors for the wrongs dqne them ; 
and lest they should do so, they would gladly remove 
them to some far-off country. 

Yet here, in North America, will the colored race 
remain, and ere long in my opinion, become a great 
people, equal with the proud Anglo-Saxon in all things. 
The African has once been a powerful nation, before 
Christian Englishmen invaded her coasts with rum, 
and incited her chiefs to war, by purchasing with 
gaudy, but worthless trinkets, her conquered captives ; 
and we have every reason to believe, that though her 
glory as a nation has departed, that her sons will yet 
be acknowledged free men by the white population of 
this country. 

There have been black generals in the world before 
Napoleon was born, and there may be again; and 
to-day, notwithstanding all the prejudice against 
color, that everywhere exists in this guilty nation, 
there are men of talent among us, inferior to none on 
the earth ; nor are their numbers few, though rapidly 
increasing. 

"Well may the South arouse herself, forrft societies, 
replenish its treasury with a tax imposed on the free 
colored people, to defray the expense of sending man- 
umitted slaves to Liberia I 



CONCLUSION. 329 

Listen a moment to the cant of tlie colon izationists. 
Hear ]iim talk of tlie duty he owes to Africa, and how 
happy, how intelligent, how prosperous everything is 
in Liberia. But when that delightful country asks to 
be taken into fellowship with the United States, and 
to have her independence recognized — ah, then he 
lifts his hands in horror and begs to be excused from 
so close a relation. 

This is all cant, in my humble opinion ; and when 
I see men so anxious to send the negro out of their 
sight, I feel quite certain that they are conscious of 
ha\dng deeply wronged him, and think to remove 
him, to atone for their guilty consciences. Would 
they refuse to acknowledge the independence of 
Liberia, if their interest in the colored people was 
genuine, especially when several other nations had 
done so? Oh, no. But that is not ^''the rub.'''' How 
could one of our lordly nabobs of the South, sit in 
Congress with perhaps one of his own manumitted 
slaves as a representative from Liberia or Hayti ! He 
would die of mortification. Yery well then ; but let 
him talk no more of sending colored men to that 
country to make them free men. 

The colored people generally, I am happy to say, 
have a right conception of the colonization . plan, and 
will never be induced to go to Africa, unless they go 
as missionaries to the heathen tribes, who certainly 
should have the gospel preached to them. Some, 



830 CONCLUSION. 

from a sense of duty, may go as teachers, — wliich is 
all well enough, — but certain it is, that no amount of 
prejudice or abuse, will ever induce the colored race 
to leave this country. Long have they been oppress- 
ed; but they are rising — coming up to an elevated 
standard, and are fast gathering strength and courage, 
for the great and coming conflict with their haughty 
ojopressors. 

That there must be ere long, a sharp contest be- 
tween the friends of Freedom and the Southern 
oligarchy, I can no longer doubt. 

When our worthy ministers of the gosj)el, are sent 
back to us from the South, clothed with a coat of tar 
and feathers; when our best and most sacrificing 
philanthropists are thrown into Southern dungeons ; 
when our laboring men are shot down by haughty 
and idle Southern aristocrats, in the hotels of their 
employers, and under the very eje of Congress; 
when the press is muzzled, and every editor, who has 
the manliness to speak in defence of Freedom, 
and the wickedness of the slaveholder, is caned or 
otherwise insulted by some insignificant Southern 
bully ; and when at last, our Mr. Sumner is attacked 
from behind, by a Southern, cowardly scoundrel, and 
felled senseless on the floor of the Senate chamber, for 
his defence of Liberty, — then, indeed, may N'orthern 
men look about them ! Well may they be aroused 
by the insolence and tyranny of the South ! 



I CONCLUSION-. 831 

And for what is all this ? Do not our Southern 
<men know, that if light and truth are permitted to 
ireach the minds of the people, that Kansas will be 
lost to them as slave territory, wherein the Southern 
slave-breeder can dispose of his own flesh to the 
highest bidder ! Hear them talk as they do, in their 
pious moments, with upturned faces, in solemn mock- 
ery, of returning the negro to his native Africa ! How 
many pure Africans, think you, can be found in the 
whole slave population of the South, to say nothing 
of their nativity ? Native Africa, indeed ! Who 
does not know, that in three-fourths of the colored 
race, there runs the blood of the white master, — the 
breeder of his own chattels! Think you, that a 
righteous God will fail to judge a nation for such 
flagrant sins? Nay, verily. If the All- wise God, 
who has created of one blood all nations of the 
earth, has designed their blood to commingle until 
that of the African is absorbed in that of the Euro- 
pi'an, — then is it right, and amalgamation of all the 
dilYerent races should, be universally practiced and 
approved. If it be right for the Southern slaveholder, 
to cruelly enforce the mixture of the races, to gratify 
his lust, and swell the enormity of his gains, certainly 
it cannot be wrong to amalgamate from choice and 
affection. Let us ask then, why did our Omnipotent 
Creator make the marked distinction ? Certainly not 
for the purpose that one race might enslave and 



§32 CONCLUSION. 

triumpli over anotlier; but eviclentlj, that each in his 
own proper sphere might glorify God, to whom their 
respective bodies and spirits belong. Why, indeed, 
was the black man created, if not to fulfil his destiny 
as a oierjro, to the glory of God ? 

SuiFer me then to exhort you, my countrymen, to 
cease looking to the white man for example and 
imitation. Stand boldly up in your own national 
characteristics, and show by your perseverance and 
industry, your honor and purity, that you are men, 
colored men, but of no inferior quality. The greatest 
lack I see among you, is unity of action, pardon- 1 
able, to be sure, in the eyes of those who have seen : 
your oppression and limited advantages ; but now tliat 
many of you have resolved to gain your rights or die 
in the struggle, let me entreat you to band yourselves 
together in one indissoluble bond of brotherhood, 
to stand shoulder to shoulder in the coming conflict, 
and let every blow of yours tell for Freedom and the 
elevation of your race throughout the land. Speak 
boldly out, for the dumb and enslaved of your unfor- 
tunate countrymen, regardless of the frowns and 
sneers of the haughty tyrants, who may dare lift 
their puny arm, to frustrate the design of the Al- 
mighty, in preserving you an unmixed and powerful 
race on the earth. 

AYhile I would not that j^ou depend on any human 
agency, save your own unyielding exertion, in the 



j 



CONCLUSION". 83B 

elevation of our race ; still, I would not have you 

unmindful of, nor ungrateful for, tlie noble exertions 

of those kind white friends, who have plead the 

1 cause of the bondman, and have done all in their 

power to aid you, for which, may the God of the 

oppressed abundantly bless them. 

' Let your attention be given to the careful training 

[ and education of the rising generation, that they may 

be useful, and justly command the respect of their 

fellow-men. Labor for a competency, but give not 

your whole attention to amassing the wealth that 

' perishes; but seek to lay up for yourselves " treasures 

where moth doth not corrupt, nor thieves break 

[ through and steal." 

•Suppose not, my brethren, that your task is a light 
. one, or one that can be performed without years of 
i patient toil and unyielding perseverance. Our op- 
f pressors are not very ready to credit our exertion, — 
! too often forgetting the effects of our long degradation, 
' a-nd vainly expecting to see us arise at once, to the 
highest standard of elevation, able to cope successfully 
with those who have known no such discourage- 
ments or disadvantages, as has been our lot to bear. 

IRese and many other obstacles must be bravely 

met, and assiduously removed, — ^remembering that 

Slavery has robbed some of us, and prejudice many 

others, of that perseverance so necessary to the accom- 

j j^lishrnent of any enterprize ; but in the elevation of 



83i CONCLUSION. 

ourselves and race, let us never falter and grow 
weary, until we have reached the elevated station 
God designed us to occupy, and have fitted the rising 
generation to fill and improve it after our earthly 
course is finished and we leave to them the stage of 
action. 

Allow me, however, to entreat, that no success 
which may attend your determined efforts ; no position 
which you may attain, — may ever so occupy your 
mind, as to cause you to forget for one moment, the 
afflictions of your countrymen, or to cease to remem- 
ber the groaning millions in bonds, until every slave 
shall triumphantly chant the song of deliverance 
from Slavery's dark prison house. 

Bear with m-c, my dear brethren, while I claim a 
friend's license, to say, that I would not that you 
place implicit confidence in any of the political organ- 
izations of the present time; but remember that the 
majority of those parties are diligently laboring for 
their own interest. Look you then to yours; are 
you less capable of securing your rights than 
they ? Never was there a time when indolence and 
supineness among us, would be so unpardonable as 
now, nor when so much depended on our active^nd 
judicious exertions. 

Let us not forget, that in the past, we could and 
did truthfully complain, that we had no helper, — 
bound and crushed beneath an overwhelming weight 



coN'CLtJsio:N'. 835 

of prejudice and ignorance, we lay helpless at the 
feet of our political spoilers. A favorable change has 
since been effected in the public sentiment; and now 
that we see thousands who are willing to aid us, and 
as many more who will not hinder our labor, — shall 
we fold our hands in idleness? — or shall we renew 
our energies, in the cause of freedom and of our own 
advancement ? Although we may not implicitly rely 
upon the political exertion of others, let us not fear to 
co-operate with the friends of liberty everywhere, as 
far as a good conscience will permit, and our limited 
privileges will allow, by our determined zeal for the 
right, make our influence felt in the nation. See what 
wrong and oppression our white brethren have met in 
Kansas, from the slave power; and let their noble 
deeds of patriotism ; their liberal sacrifices for freedom, 
be not only our example, but an incentive to do our 
duty. Have they more at stake in that mighty 
struggle than we, that they should leave their homes 
of refinement and comfort, take their lives in their 
hands and bravely contend for their rights, surrounded 
by scenes of blood and carnage ? Certainly not. No 
people on the earth can have greater incentives to 
arouse them to action, than the colored people of this 
country now have ; I trust therefore, that our future 
independence and prosperity, will suffer nothing from 
the inactivity of our race. 

Some may entertain the belief that the African 



336 CONCLUSIOI^-. 

slave trade is entirely abandoned. I think not. Often 
are seen strange, \§nspicious looking vessels, lying 
along tlie African coast, for no other purpose than that 
of kidnapping the poor, ignorant natives. Stealthily 
the slave-trader lands his wicked crew, in the vicinity 
of some negro village or cluster of huts, and when a 
favorable opportunity occurs, he and his men rush 
upon the frightened African, burn theu' huts, and amid 
the shrieks of the captives, and the groans of the help- 
less and aged, who have been trampled down in their 
rude haste to secure the young and able-bodied 
natives, bear them to the vessel, where they are 
stowed away in the hold of the ship, which bears 
them to Christian (?) America, where they are sold as 
slaves. 

Some years ago, a woman engaged in washing 
clothes, near the sea coast, had a lad with her to take 
care of her two younger children — one a young babe — ■ 
while she was at work. They wandered away a short 
distance, and while amusing themselves under some 
bushes, four men, to them strange looking creatures, 
with white faces, surrounded them ; and when the lad 
attemj)ted to run away, they threw the infant he held 
in his arms, on the ground, and seizing the other two 
children, bore them screaming with fear, to the ship. 
Frantic and inconsolable, they were borne to the 
American slave market, where they were sold to a ' 
Virginia planter, for whom they labored sorrowfully 



CONCLUSION. 887 

and in tears, until old age deprived tliem of farther 
exertion, when they were turned out, like an old horse, 
to die; and did die destitute and uncared for, in their 
aged infirmity, after a long life of unrequited toil. 
That lad, stolen from Africa's coast, was my grand- 
father. 

It is not, however, necessary for us to look beyond 
our own country, to find all the horrors of the slave 
traffic! A tour through the Southern States will 
prove sufficient to satisfy any one of that fact; 
nor will they travel over one of them, before — ^if 
they have a heart of flesh — they will feel oppressed 
by the cruel outrage, daily inflicted on their fellow- 
beings. The tourist need not turn aside to seek 
evidences : he will very readily observe the red flag 
of the auctioneer floating over the slave pen, on which 
he may read in large letters, waving in the pure air of 
heaven, "Slaves, Horses, and other Cattle, in lots 
to suit purchasers ! ^'' He may halt a moment, and look 
at the multitude, collecting under the folds of that 
infamous banner, where will be found a few gentle- 
manly appearing slave holding planters, superbly 
mounted, and perhaps with their servants in waiting ; 
but the larger number he will find to be drunken, 
coarse, brutal looking men, swaggering about in the 
capacity of slave-traders. 

Let him enter the low, dingy, filthy building, occu- 
pied by human merchandize, and he will there behold 
P 



838 cx)NCLUSioi<r. 

husbands and wives, parents and children, abont to be 
sold, and perhaps separated forever I See the trader, 
as he examines with inhuman indifference the bones 
and sinews, the teeth and joints of the articles on 
hand, even of females, and hear him make inquiries 
concerning her capabilities, that would make a savage 
blush! And see the miserable woman lift her red 
and swollen eyes to the face of the heartless trader, 
and the next moment cast a dispairing glance over the 
motley crowd, in search of a compassionate look — a 
pitying eye. Should she see one countenance wearing 
a kind, humane expression, it will most likely bring 
her frantically to his feet, where, kneeling, with up- 
lifted hands, she pleads: "Oh, Massa, do buy me ! Do 
buy me and little Sam ! He be all of the chil'ens 1 
got left I 0, Lord ! 0, Lord I Do, Massa, buy me, 
and this one baby I Oh, do Massa ! " But the 
weight of the cow-hide drives her to the auction 
block, where in mock solemnity she is represented as 
''an article of excellent breed, a good cook, a good 
seamstress, and withal a good Christian, a ra'al gene- 
wine lamb of the flock ! " — and then she is struck off 
to the highest bidder, who declares that he "won't 
have the young' un any' how, 'cause he's gwine to 
drive her down to Lousianny." 

He may see, too, the wild, dispairing look of some 
frightened young slave girl, passing under the lustful 
gaze of some lordly libertine, who declares himself 
" in search of a fancy article for his own use I " 



CONCLUSION. 839 

* One after another is taken from tlie block, until all 
are disposed of, amid the agonized wail of heart- 
broken wives and mothers, husbands and fathers, and 
the piercing screams of helpless children, torn from a 
parent's embrace, to be consigned to the care of 
strangers. 

Nor need I inform our traveler of the inhuman 
method generally approved, in hunting with trained 
blood-hounds, kept and advertised for the purpose of 
recaj^turing any poor slave who may attempt to 
escape from this cruel bondage. He may perchance, 
come across the mangled and lifeless body of some 
fugitive, which has just been run down and torn in 
pieces by the dogs of the hunter ! Should he stop a 
few moments, he will soon see a hole dug in the 
ground, and the remains of the slave pitched into it, 
covered sufficiently to hide the unsightly mass from 
view, and there will be an end of the whole matter ! 
'' Shall T not visit for these things ? saith the Lord ; 
and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as 
this?" 

In giving to the public this unvarnished, but truth- 
ful narrative, of some of the occurrences of my 
humble and uneventful life, I have not been influ- 
enced by a vain desire for notoriety, but by a wil- 
lingness to gratify a just and honorable request, 
repeatedly made by numerous and respected friends, 
to learn the truth concerning my connection with the 



^'^^ CONCLUSION. 



"Wilberforce colony; the events which there transpired 
during my stay, and the cause of my losing a hard- 
earned property. Eegarding the affairs of the colony, 
I have, therefore, endeavored to be particular, — be- 
lieving that duty to myself and brethren, required mo 
to give them the within information; but nothing 
have I set down in malice. ^Much more might have 
been said ralative to some of the leading characters in 
that settlement, had I not been fearful of its assuming 
the character of a personal enmity or retaliation. lie 
who knows and will judge the actions of men, will 
bear me witness, that I have cherished no such 
feelings toward any of those who then lived, but now 
sleep in death. 

In justification, however, of my statements regard- 
ing the character of Mr. Lewis, I will call the attention 
of the reader to some of the many letters received 
from good and eminent men, to show that I was not 
alone in the low estimate of his virtues. Gladly I 
leave that unpleasant subject, hoping that nothing in 
our past history will serve to becloud the bright 
future beginning to dawn on the prospects of our 
disfranchised and oppressed countrymen. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



liETTMl FBOM A. SteVAUD TO Wm. L. GaUEISOX. 

Mk. GAnttisox, 

Dear Sir : — In a recent examination of the business 
transactions between the Board of Managers of the "Wilberforce 
Colony, and their agent Rev. X. Paul, I find a charge made by him, 
and allowed by the board, of the sura of two hundred dollars, which 
he paid to yourself Finding no receipt or acknowledgment fi'om 
you, I write to ask you to favor me with one, or an explanation of the 
facts in the case, either of which will greatly oblige me, as I design 
to make it public. Truly Yours, <tc., 

A. STEWARD. 
Canandaigua, X. T., May, 1856. 



Ms. Gaiuuson's Reply to A. Steward. 

Dear Sir: 

You state that Rev. N". Paul, as agent for the "VTilberforce 
i Settlement, U. C, in rendering his accounts on his return from Eng- 
land, charged the Board of ifanagers with tlie sum of two hundred 
dollars, pai<l by him to me while in England; that said sum was 



342 COREESPONDENCE. 

allowed hy the board ; adding tliat you do not recollect of my ac« 
knowledging or giving credit to the Settlement for it. 

In reply, I can only assure yon that there must be a mistake in 
regard to this item. I borrowed no money, nor had I any occasion 
to ask a loan of my friend Paul, my expenses being defrayed by 
funds contributed by friends in this country; nor could I with pro] 
priety receive, nor he give me any part of the money contributed for 
the benefit of the Wilberforce Settlement ; hence, a loan or gift fr-om 
him, could have been nothing more than a pei-sonal matter between 
oui-selres. Moreover, had he at that time or any other, given me in 
good faith the sum named as belonging to the Settlement, (bclieying 
that as we were laboring together, for the interest of one common 
cause, the board -^ould not hesitate to allow it,) he would certainly 
have demanded a receipt, which it would have pleased me to give, 
of course, that he might satisfy the boai-d that their liberality had 
been disbursed according to their wishes, or his judgment But 
receiving no money from your agent, will be a sufficient reason for 
not acknowledging it, or giving due credit to the Settlement" 

I can account for this chai-ge on his pai-t, in no way, except that as 

he was with me a part of the time I was in London, and we traveled 

together a part of the time, during which, he ably and effectively 

assisted me in exposing that most iniquitous combination, "The 

American Colonization Society," — he charged to me, (that is, to my 

mission) sundry items of expense which he undoubtedly believed 

justly incurred by his helping me to open the eyes of British pid- 

lanthropists to the real design of that society; and I shall ever 

remember with gratitude, his heartiness and zeal in the cause and in 

my behal£ I owe much to the success that so signally crowned my 

mission, to his presence, testimony, and eloquent denunciation of the 

colonization scheme. I, however, received no money from him, and 

can but think that the above explanation was the occasion of his 

making the charge, and which I tmst will leave on his memory, no 

intentional wrong. 

TVM. L. GARIIISOX. 
Boston, Mass., June, 185f). 



CORRESPOyDEXCE, 343 

FaoM Mr, Bakib to A. SirarASD. 

Mr. a. Steward, 

Dear Sir : — Israel Levis, the farmer agent of jcnr 
Settlement, last spring represented to me the suffering condition 
of your poor, and requested that I should forward some goods, for 
■which I should be paid ; I did so, and sent goods to the amount of 
one hundred thirtj--&ix dollars and ninety-eight cents. The goods 
were sold at cost. 

I am also endorsed on a note for two hundred thirteen doUats 
and ten cents, which faH^ due 24th of rViii^ month, and which I shall 
hare to pay. This note was given by Lewis for the purpose of rais- 
ing money to fit out Mr. Paid, on his mission to England. I was 
pronnisod that the money should be here to meet it. 

I have heard nothing from Lewis or this business since, and as I 
understand you arc ihe agent, I must look to you to make pioTisioii 
to meet the note, and pay for the goods. Good faith requires that all 
contracts by your agency be fjdfiUed. 

Yours, Respectfully, 

CORXAL BAKEP^ 
Xew York Citv, Dec., 1S33. 



Fe£.'-^ ;Ma, L A. Spali^hig to a. otbward. 

Dear Friexd: 

In August Ltsi, Israel Lewis, accompanied by Rev. 
Kathaniel Paul called upon me and exhibited a power of attorney, 
signed by you as president of the trustees of the colony, authorizing 
Lewis to take loans, d:c., for the benefit of the colony. 

Feeling a deep interest in the progress of the colony, I agreed to 
become security with E. Peck, at the Bank of Rochester, for the 
payment of seven hundred dollars, which soon was raised by Lewis 
OQ the note, for the benefit of the colony. I was in hopes to have 



844 CORKESPONDEXCE. 

seen you. E. Peck and myself, both are willing to aid you in your 
noble enterprise, — and may otters feel the same disposition. But as 
■we have families and friends, who look to us for support and protec- 
tion, it is proper that we should haye your personal pledge to save us 
from embarrassment. 

We know your character well, and we have also great confidence in 
Israel Lewis, and the others engaged with you, — but none of them 
are so thoroughly known to us as youreelf. 

Our asking for your personal pledge, does not arise from any fears 
that the note will not be paid ; but as it was signed to aid you, we 
think it proper that you should respond by guai'anteeing that we 
shall not be iujm-ed. 

I accordingly copy the note in question, and write a guai-antee 
vhich I wish you to sign and hand to my brother. 

I feel much anxiety in regard to your progress ; in your forming 
Bchools; religious and temperance societies; and in your taking every 
measure to elevate the \infortunate colored man who may go to your 
colony for protection and improvement. 

Very Respectfully Yours, 

AusTix Steward. LYMAN" A. SPALDING. 

Lockport, N. Y., 1831. 



Feom] the Coxyentioxal Board, Philadelphia, Pa., to A. Steward. 

Mr. Austin Steward, Wilberforce, U. C, 

Esteemed Friend : — I am charged by the con- 
ventional board, to infonn you that at the last session of the general 
convention, you was duly elected their General Corresponding Agent, 
for the Wilbcrforce Settlement and parts adjacent. Respectfully and 
in an official capacity, would I ask you to accept the appointment. 

And in pursuance of the said appointment, the board would be 
happy to have at least a monthly coiTcspondence from you, on all 
Buch matters as may, in your opinion, be thought conducive to tho 



CORRESPONDENCE. 34:5 

prosperity of the settlement, the elevation and future happiness of 
the free people of color. 

In particular, we would wish you to give as accurate an account as 
possible, of the number of settlers ; the number of acres as pur- 
chased ; at what price ; what number are improved and under 
culture ; what number of houses or tenements are in the Settlement, 
«fcc., <fec. 

What are your present prospects in regard to crops ; your political 
advantages or disadvantages. 

We would also respectfully ask you to inform us, what number of 
settlers might emigrate there each year, without injuring the Settle- 
ment. Also, what kind of machines you most need ; also, what are 
tlie terms for which laborers are contracted for and how paid. 

The board have been thus particular, because they rely with full 
confidence on your patriotism and capability, which have been 
unanimously assigned to you. 

You will perceive our object is, to contribute, as far as lays in our 
power, pecuniary aid, and assist in securing you such agricultural 
and mechanical emigrants as, in your opinion, the Settlement may 
need; and in all our recommendations to you, we shall endeavor to 
have an eye to character, knowing full well that by that alone you 
must stand or fall. 

We have been infonned here by a letter (purporting to be written 
by a Mr. Stover), that the Canada Company actually refuses to sell 
land to colored persons ; and that they are anxious to buy out the 
colored settlers at Wilberforce. 

Be pleased to inform me if that be a fact, with its particulars; and 
if there be any disadvantages in purchasinor land by colored emi- 
grants. 

The board would be happy to know if you have had any news 
from your agent in England. If any, what are his prospects ? 

You will please be particular and candid in stating your wants 
(as well as disadvantages) to us, as we will do om* utmost to satisfy 



3^ CORRESPONDEXCE. 

tliem, as -vrell as promote tlie happiness of the settlei-s, an<l the pros- 
perity of the Settlement 

Be pleased to answer as soon as possible, for Ave as brothers in 
common, feel deeply interested. 

"With sentiments of sincere fnendship, 

I remain, yours, 

JUXIUS C. MORRELL. 
A tnie copy from the record. 



Resolutioxs passed by the Board of Managers of the TVilbee- 
force coloxt. 

At a meeting of the Boai-d of Managers, held September 30th, 
J 831, to call the Agents to an acconnt : 

Resolved, That the Report of IS". Paul be accepted, and unani- 
mously agreed to. 

At a meeting of the Boai-d of Directors, all the membere present, 
March 18th, 1832 : 

Resolved, That "we disapprove of the conduct of Israel Lewis, in his 
being absent so long, and also his not communicating with the Boai'd 
of Directoi-s, and not infoiToing them from time to time, how he is 
prosecuting his agency. 

Resolved, That the chairman of this board be instmcted to write 
to said Lewis, to return home, and lay before this board liis doings. 

At a meeting of the Board, held April 1st, 1832, all the meml:)ers 
and Israel Lewis present with them, he made the following Report, 
and resigned his office as agent, which was accepted : 

Lewis said that seven hundred dollars was all that he had col- 
lected. That he paid one hundred and fifty dollars for board in Xew 
Fork, thirty-five dollai-s for clothes, and two hundi-ed doUai-g to N: 
Paul, as an out-fit for England. 



COBRESPONDKN'CE. 347 

CIRCULAR. 

TheBoaed of Maxagees foe the Coloxt, 

To the ChriUiaru and JPhUardhropisU in the Uniicd Staiet: 

We, the undersigned inhabitants and Board of Managers for the 
Colony of Wilberforce, beg leave to state that the frost cnt off the 
crops in this part of the country last year, and some of the colonists 
are in great need of assistance. And we flatter ourselres that vhen 
the peculiar circumstances of this iniant Settlement are duly con- 
sidered, this appeal, to a generous and discriminating public, will not 
t>e made in vain. 

The board are sensible from the cause above stated, that the inhab- 
itants of Wilberforce will be compelled to ask aid from the friends of 
humanity in the States, or they must suffer. 

Under these circumstances they commissioned the Rev. James 
Sharp, as their agent, and sent him to the States ; but owing to the 
opposition of Israel Lewis, — who had been formerly employed as 
agent, but was removed from the agency — rua labors were almost 
wholly lost to the board. 

We would simply say, that Lewis was acting for a certain company 
here ; but we have made inquiries, and find but one man in Wilber- 
force that belongs to said company, and he is an old man, in his 
dotage. That man is Simon Wy<^t. We might say more, but we 
think there has been enough written to satisfy the public 

In consequence of the unfaithfulness of Israel Lewis, and the 
numerous agents that may be looking around the country after him, 
the board have come to the conclu.-ion to dispense with a traveling 
agent for the present. 

And we would humbly request Lyman A. Spalding, Esq., of Lock- 
port; E. Peck, Esq., of Rochester; Rev. Dr. Budd, of Auburn; Charles 
Davis, Esq., of Ludlowville, Tompkins County, X. Y.; Aruthur Tap- 
pan, Esq., city of Xew York; to act as receivers for the Colony. The 
above named gentlemen, will see that the fonds which they may 
receive, be faithfully applied according to the wishes of the donois. 



348 ' CORRESPOXDEXCE. 

All moncj placed in each of the banks at Rochester and a dupli- 
cate sent on to the Colony, may be cashed here "vvithout any 
discount. 

To Christians "we appeal: by the brotherhood of Christ, and by 
their own hopes of being united in him, to extend to us the means 
of obtaining bread ; giye us, in the name of Jesus, of your abun- 
dance ; give us, as God has blessed you, for the poor among us •want 
bread and clothing. 

It is to be hoped that every clergyman in the States, will lay this 
circular before their respective congregations, and give every person 
an opportunity to throw in their mite into the treasury of the 
Lord! 

Austin Steward, Pree't 
Joseph Taylor, Secy. 
Philip Harris, 
John Whitehead, 
Peter Butler, 
Samuel Peterson, 
William Brown. 



From Rev. J. Budd to A. Steward and Others. 

Messrs. Paul and Steward: 

I have ever taken a great degree of 
interest in the welfare of your colony, and have in various ways, 
brought it before the public. 

It has pained me deeply to learn that there are divisions among 
you. The whole deportment and manner of Lewis, who has been 
here, has evidently impressed the public in his favor. Although I do 
not wish to take ground as his advocate, to the extinction of others, 1 
am not inclined to think him dishonest from the testimony now 
before me. 



COEKESPONDENCE. 849 

But, apart from Lira, my present impression is that the most 
effectual way for you to promote the cause of the Colony, is not, at 
this stage of the business, to appear before the public in a hostile 
attitude to Lewis. 

I know some excellent and prominent gentlemen in this quarter, 
who think he is unkindly treated ; at any rate, while the investiga- 
tion, lately commenced at Albany, is going on, it appears to me not 
wise in you to put forth any further publication reflecting upon 
Lewis. He may have acted impnidently ; but he has excited him- 
self very much, and should the idea prevail that you and he are in a 
state of collision, it would be \'eiy bad for you. 

I consider your Colony as a very impoi-tant matter, and will do all 
in my power to promote your welfare, but it is veiy material not to 
prejudice the public against you. 

Before I move in the matter, I wish to know the real state of the 
matter between Lewis and the Colony. As soon as I can know that 
he has defrauded you and deceived the public, I will not hesitate to 
give my views on the subject, and put forth any efforts in my power 
for your advancement. 

There should no sectarian or party feeling be allowed to creep into 
your institution. 

I thank you for naming me as a receiver for your Colony, and 
should anything come to me, I shall hand it over to James S. Sey- 
mour, Esq., Cashier of the Bank of Auburn, who should have been 
named instead of me. I hope you will put bis name in my place, or 
at any rate, name him with me, for he has been from the first, much 
interested in your behalf. 

If you will allow me, I will briefly say, that my opinion is, your 
best way to relieve your immediate wants, would be to issue a brief 
circular, stating the failure of your crops, your newness of settle- 
ment, &c., &c.; and call upon the public for help, without naming 
Lewis or alluding to your difficulty with him; let your papers be 
properly authorized, and say that the agent you employ is not 



850 CORRESPOiS'DENCE. 

engaged in getting funds to pay for land, found sckook, &c., but to 

get immediate provisions for tlie Colony. 

If you will send an agent here and prepare yonr circular in this 

way — let it be short — and 1 will print it and give copies of it to him 

for circulation, free of charge. 

With many prayera for the prosperity of your Colony, 

I am your Friend, 

JOHN BUDD. 
Auburn, N. Y., May, 1833. 



Reply to J. Budd by A. Steward. 

To The Rev. J. Bunn, 

Sir : — "We feel under renewed obligation to yon, 
for you friendly advice ; but we have already sent out several copies 
of our circular to different places, and probably some of them have 
beed printed before this time. 

"We have no object in view, but tnith, justice, — the greatest good of 
the Settlement, and of our brethren in genei-al. Israel Lewis has, 
however, collected large sums of money, for oar relief, of which we 
have not had the benefit. Nearly two years ago, he was appointed 
agent for the Colony, to collect funds to build a meeting-house, to 
endow schools, (fee. In less than one year he received more than two 
thousand dollars, which he squandered ; and we have neither mcU- 
ing-house nor schools, nor never 'wUl have, so long as the money goes 
into the hands of Lewis. All that we would have foi-given him 
gladly, if he would consent to be stUl and not tisurp the agency 
against the wishes of the people. 

Sir, is it not expected that he would appear well; as you say, tliat 
" the whole deportment and manner of Lewis, who has been in this 
place, evidently have impressed the people in his favor," — while col- 
lecting money with the eye of the public upon him. But follow him 
home iito another kingdom, and there see the man in his tnie 



CORRESPONDENCE. 851 

character; stripped of his borrowed plumage, — and we -vrill guar- 
antee that you would agree with us, in believing that he is an arch 
hypocrite. 

We should be soriy to prejudice the public against our Settlement, 
more especially when we are actuated by the pm-est motives, — that 
of preventing the Christian public from being imposed upon, by 
drawing large sums from them for us, as they suppose, when in truth 
such sums never reach us at all. 

Sir, we know that you are actuated by the purest motives, but you 
are deceived in the character of the man, (Lewis). When I was 
living in the States and only saw him there, collecting money for the 
poor, I thought him honest as you now do ; but two or three years' 
residence in Wilberforce Colony, has abundantly satisfied me that 
his object is to get money, that he may live in a princely style, and 
not for the benefit of the poor as he pretends. 

Such ai*e the tnie facts in the case. We should be glad to have 
the name of James S. Seymour, Esq., added to the list, and any 
other prominent citizen you may think would help the cause. 

In regard to the investigation at Albany, we do not see how the 
public are to anive at the facts in the case from any statement Lewis 
may make ; for all his statements that I have seen in print, are posi- 
tively void of truth, in the most essential part, so that they are of 
little or no importance at all unless substantiated by other testimony. 

The circular contains no testimony that has not been heretofore 
laid before the public. Mr. Benjamin Paul recently wi'ote a letter to 
the editors of "The Baptist Register," in which he stated that Lewis 
had fed and clothed the colonists like a father, which is not true; and 
so sensible was Paul of the fact, that when the letter reached here, 
together with the surprize it created wherever Lewis was known, 
that Paul cheerfully contradicted it, confessed that he was mistaken, 
and thus made it known to the public. 

We certainly have no sectional feelings in the matter, though 
Lewis has labored hard to impress the public with a contrary belief; 
and he has even brought false charges of the basest kind against our 



i552 CORRESPONDENCE. 

most respectable citizens, all to draw the attention of tho public from 
the ti-ue facts in the case. 

It is a general time of health here in the Colony. The season It 
veiy favorable ; our crops look well, and with the blessings of God 
■we shall raise enough to supply our wants this year. 
Yours, with due respect. 

In behalf of the Colonists, 

A. STEWARD. 
Wilberforce, June, 1833. 



From A. Steward to G. Banks and Others. 

Messrs. Banks, Wilber, Brockenberg <fe Harris: 

I have received a communication through your corres 
ponding secretary. Mi*. James C. Brown, and I hasten to answer it. 
The last communication I have received from Mr. N. Paul, was 
in December, 1833, at which time he was vigorously pros'ecuting his 
mission, as will more fully appear by the annexed copy of said letter, 
which I cheerfully send you. His return is expected daily. 

[Copy of N". Paul's Letter.] 

My Dear Brother Steward: 

When I last addressed you, I informed you that I 
expected to leave this country before a return letter from yon could 
be expected. I therefore stated, if I remember con-ectly, that you 
need not write. 

I now find that I shall be detained much longer than I then calcu- 
lated ; and this detention is owing to the Slavery question. The 
friends of the cause, advised me to forego my object, until that 
question was settled ; and then they would turn their attention to ray 
cause, and render me what assistance they could. 

All their united strength was needed now, while that question was 



i 



COERESPONDENCE. 353 

pending. But thanks be to God, that is now settled. On the first 
day of August next, will be the proudest day that ever Britain knew; 
for from that time hencefoi-th, there will not remain a single slave 
throughout His Majesty's dominions. 

The friends of the cause are now turning their attention to Slavery 
in the United States, and are about to form a society for the abolition 
of Slavery throughout the world. They all think highly of our 
Settlement, and will give it theii' cordial support. 

The leading abolitionists have given me letters of recommendation 
throughout the I^ngdom, and have appointed one of their most effec- 
tive men to travel with me, — his name is John Scoble, a very ready, 
intelligent, earnest, and an eloquent speaker. I think 1 can do more 
now in one month, than I could in throe before the question was 
settled in regard to their own slaves. 

You will at once see that althougli the people concluded my object 
to be an important one, yet, they generally thought that they ought 
to lend all their aid in removing tlie stain from their own land first. 
This stain is now effectually effaced, and my meetings are exceed- 
ingly crowded. I addressed an audience at Norwich of from three 
to four thousand persons, week before last, when about five hundred 
dollars was collected. So you see I am getting on. I start, the Lord 
willing, next v/eek for Scotland, and shall spend the winter 
tliere and in the North of England. In the spring I shall return and 
take passage for Canada. I doubt not, that you are anxiously looking 
for my return; yet, you cannot want to see me more than I want to 
return; but I tell you now as I have told you before, that I shall not 
return until I have done all that can be done by my labor. 

Yom-s, 

K PAUL. 

SiBs: 

The above copy will give you all the recent information we 
have received concerning the mission of our foreign agent. 



354 coekespondekceT 

Please accept my kindest regards, with my acknox^ledgments of 
your distinguished consideration, while I remain, 

Yours truly, 

AUSTIN STEWARD- 
Wilberforce, U. C. 



FuoM A. Steward to Mr. Nzll. 

Dear Sm': 

We are glad to acknowledge your favor of October last, 
and to heal" of your safe an-ival in England, your health and fair 
prospects. 

Since my removal to Wilberforce, I have opened a school, which 
Mrs. Steward has engaged to teach for one year; while I shall pro- 
bably devote my time to traveling through the States, for the benefit 
of the Colony, which is indeed poor, and in want of some assistance; 
and yet, not a dollai- have we in the treasury to help them with. 

Ml'. Paul has not returned, though we are daily expecting liira. 
Our friends in New York, still have confidence in his pledge to do 
right; and we ai-e anxiously expecting its fulfilment. 

Your wife, Mrs. Nell, and the children are well, and we are still 
doing all in our power for theii- comfort; but my means, in conse- 
quence of having been so much abroad the past season, are limited; 
by which you will see, my dear Sir, the necessity of remitting funds 
to me, that I may make your family more comfortable in all things, 
without distressing my own. 

The settlers are well, and are looking with hopeful expectancy for 
you to do something handsome for them, in which I do hope they 
may not be disappointed. Lewis is still in New York. We have 
appointed another agent, named Scott; but who is doing nothing for 
the Colony now. 

May the blessings of God rest upon you, and your endeavors; yom- 
good deportment put to silence vour enemiep; may the/ who foresee 



I 



(X>RRESPONDE]SrCE. 855 

that you Trill clieat the poor colored children, be sadly mistaken, and 
your good deeds finally enrol yom* name on the proud list of philan- 
thropists, headed by a "Wilberforce and a Clarkson. 

Yours, in great haste, 

AUSTIIf STEWARD. 
"Wilberforce, Dec, 1835. 



From L. A. Spalding to A. Stewaed and Others. 

Dear Friends: 

I have received a letter from Israel Lewis, New York, 
requesting me to forwai-d fifty dollai-s to the treasurer of the Wilber- 
force Colony, which I will do at the first convenience. I sent fifty 
dollare some time since, which I presume was received 

I have also received a letter from B. Lundy, who speaks very 
flatteringly of the Settlement; but gives me some information relating 
to Lewis, which will injure you, unless you act wisely. 

Now I suggest for your consideration, whether it would not be best 
to keep perfectly quiet relative to him, until after he returns and 
settles with the directors. If he cannot then satisfy you, he will 
no doubt suiTender up his documents and agency like a man, and 
leave you to appoint another. 

By all means you must agree among yourselves, not suffering any 

difference of opinion to become public. Your enemies will seize 

upon this, and injure your prospects; besides, you gain nothing by it. 

Tour friends too, could then say that you acted imprudently. I hope 

to have a good account of the settlement of your difficulties if any 

should exist. 

Respectfully your Friend, 

LYMAN A. SPALDING. 
Austin Steward & Benj. Paul. 

Lockpoi-t, N. Y., 2d Mo., 4th, 1832. 



856 CORRESPONDENCE. 

From Rev. S. E. Cornish to A. Steward. 

Dear Steward: 

I have this day received your letter, and God willing, 
I will be with you in the course of ten or twelve days. Please to 
keep your people together, until I come. I will see that they be 
not oppressed by that notorious Israel Lewis. I believe him to be 
one of the worst men living, whose deeds will yet come to light. Do 
stay in the Colony and keep all things as they are until I come. 
Yours, with high esteem, 

SAMUEL E. CORNISH. 

P. S. — I am glad that Mrs. Steward is in Rochester; your Colony 
is by no means suited to her talents and refined mind. She never 
could be happy there. My love to all the Colonists; I will do every 
thing for them in my power. S. K C. 



From B. Luxdt to A. Steward and Others. 

Esteemed Friends: 

Again I take this method of communicating 
some private information to my personal friends, relative to my pro- 
ceedings in Mexico. My last visit to that country, (like the one 
preceding), having been prolonged far beyond the time which I had 
anticipated, I feel it incumbent on me to explain the causes thereof 
especially to such as take an interest in the entei-prize in which I 
have engaged, and those who have kindly assisted me with means lo 
defray the expenses of my journey, &c. 

Soon after the date of my last printed letter, which was issued 
from this place, I went to New Orleans, with the intention of taking 
a passage by sea, to some poi-t in Mexico; but after waiting in that 
city about two weeks, and finding no opportunity to obtain one, 1 
proceeded up the Red River, and journeyed through Texas again by 



CORRESPONDENCE. 357 

land. My health continued very good for some length of time; but 
when I reached the middle part of the Texas country, it was my 
misfortune to come again in contact with the direful " cholera," and 
again I was the subject of its virulent attacks. My detention was 
great, and affliction severe; though I finally expelled the disorder as 
I had done before. My sufferings were somewhat aggravated in 
several instances, by the fearful prejudices of the people among 
whom I traveled. I was veiy anxious to get through my journey, 
and often assayed to travel before I was in fact well enough. Tho 
consequence was, that I frequently took relapses, and sometimes had 
to lie out under trees, even in time of rain, within sight of houses, 
the people being unwilling to give me shelter therein, fearing that my 
disorder was contagious. 

At length I reached the Mexican town of San Antonio de Bexar, 
and there I tarried, until I had got pretty well rid of the cholera. I 
then pursued my journey to Monclova, the seat of government for the 
State of Coahuila and Texas, in company with several Mexican 
gentlemen and foreigners. Previous to this time, I had traveled 
several hundred miles entirely alone, and generally encamped in the 
woods or plains at night. On my amval at Monclova, I was doomed 
to encounter "misfortune" of a veiy different character. Here I 
found that the Englishman, (mentioned in my other letter), with 
whom I had contracted to petition for two grants of land, had totally 
failed in his appUcaiioTU The petition had been laid before the 
Governor, and he was about issuing the grants, when he received a 
decree from the Legislature — wliich was then in session — forbidding 
him to grant any more land, under any pretext. This measure was 
taken to prevent the great land speculators from can-ying on their 
swindling operations in Texas. An act was soon after passed by that 
hody, repealing all their Colonization laws; and thus every hope that 
I had so fondly entertained, and each fair prospect, seemingly so 
near its realization, was irisianMy blasted and utterly destroyed! If ever 
the fortitude of man was tried, mine was then. If ever stoic philoso- 
phy might be successfully called to the aid of human courage, I 



S58 CORRESPONDENCE. 

felt the necessity of invoking it upon that occasion. Nearlj t-vro 
yeai's of toil, privation and peril, have been wasted. My sufferings 
had been great, though my spirit soared on the bouyancy of hope. 
Now the fair superstnicture of an important enterprise, '^vhose ideal 
magnitude had employed my mind, to the exclusion of many hard- 
ships endured, suddenly vanished from my sight, and left before me 
a hideous and gloomy void -with no other encouragement than total 
disappointment, conscious poverty and remediless despair I What 
should I then have done ? My health vas restored, but my detention 
and consequent expenses had been so great that my funds were 
nearly exhausted. I came to the country for an important purpose; 
and I reasoned with myself thus; although my way is closed in this 
State, cannot something be done elsewhere ? I will not boast of the 
stoutest heart among men, but mine must not quail. Something fur- 
ther must be done if possible, and I will try. 

In the course of my travels, I had seen a part of the adjoining State 
of Tamaulipas, and had been informed that the colonization laws 
thereof were liberal. I was even awai'e that some parts of it are 
more suitable for the culture of the sugar cane, than any tract I 
could have obtained in Coahuila and Texas. And upon a little 
reflection, I determined to make further investigations in Tamauli- 
pas, and had been informed of the State. As soon a3 my horse was 
a little rested, I set out, alone, on a jouiTiey of between four and five 
hundred miles, part of the way thi'ough an awfully mountainous 
region, and much of it an uninhabited wilderness. I encamped out 
almost every night, during the whole journey; very seldom near any 
human habitation. I had no fire-arms nor anything to defend myself 
against the ferocious beasts of the forest, which I had evidence to 
convince me were frequently numerous, and not far distant. In two 
weeks I reached the city of Matamoras, in the State of Tamaulipas, 
quite destitute of funds, after parting with almost every disposable 
article belonging to my wardi-obe, <fcc. The people of this place 
being all perfect strangers to me, I did not for a while unfold to them 
the real object of my visit; but instead thereof, I opened a shop, and 



CORRESPONDENCE. 859 

commenced -vrorking at my old trade — the saddling business. I soon 
got as much work as I could do — supported myself, replenished my 
pocket, made some acquaintance with a number of people, and 
obtained more information respecting the Colonization laws of the 
State. A few weeks elapsed, while I was employed in this way. I 
then mounted my horse again, and proceeded to the capital of the 
State; and after negotiating for some time with the Governor and 
Council of the State, I succeeded in obtaining a grant of land, upon 
advantageous terms. I then performed another journey of almost 
two hundred and fifty miles, "alone," to Matamoras again; and soon 
thereafter embarked for the United States. 

My friends will thus perceive that I have not been idle; though 
much time has been occupied in my last expedition. I shall not 
attempt to excite their sympathy by exhibiting the twentieth part of 
what I have suffered. I do not even like to look back upon some of 
the scenes through which I have passed. But thanks to a kind and 
all-sustaiuing Providence, complete success has at last crowned my 
exertions. I strove hard to command it; and I leave it to others to 
say whether I have deserved it or not. 

The terms upon which I have obtained my gi-ant of land 
will be noticed in a public address, which I shall forwai-d with this 
letter. 

Since my arrival in this place, I have been confined by sickness; 
but am now convalescent, and shall visit my friends to the eastward, 
as soon as circumstances will permit. I cannot close this communi- 
cation, without an expression of my sincere thanks to those kind 
friends who rendered me assistance in defraying the expenses of my 
last Mexican tour. Their favors will be most gratefully remem- 
bered, and I shall feel myself under additional obligations to labor 
for the melioration of the condition of the poor and suflFering 
^ave. 

In the next number of the " Genius of Universal Emancipation," 
T shall insert the names of those who contributed to aid me in the 



360 CORRESPONDENCE. 

prosecution of my enterprise; and con-ect information relative to 
all proceedings therein, vill be given in the pages of that work, as 
the business connected ^vith it progresses. 

I am, most respectfully, your Friend, 

N. & B. Paul, B. LUNDY. 

AusTix Steward, 

Ret. J. Sharp. 

NashviUe, 5th Mo., 1835. 



THE END. yyf 



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